Lost Arc
by Chris Adair
Summary: Been reading lots of Jaune x-overs and wanted to have a go. Will involve everything, from word for word accurate films and TV to my own stuff and others. Will not be updated that often as everything I write is for me and at my own pace. I do hope others enjoy it though. Although rated T some won't be. Warnings will be given.
1. Chapter 1

**Lost Arc**

**1**

"Oh crap. She is going to be so pissed." muttered THE Jaune Arc to himself as he reshaped his personal pocket dimension to reflect his current location...again. For the 5000th time he jumped universes to try and find his way home and for the 5000th time he wasn't able to sense the quantum vibrations that matched his own, or any that were familiar.

This happened every so often to everyone from the first universe. The first was connected to all the others. Those from the first could travel to any other with the link the entire multi-verse shares with the first. However, infinity is also a very easy place to get lost in. There are those that have never been heard from again after having lost their way. If you lost your way, getting home again made looking for 1 drop of water on an ocean planet laughably simple, and Arcs' soul is now adrift in the infinity.

Jaune has always gone to great lengths to stay close to the first when he travelled the multi-verse, he has his soulmate and longs for her every minute of the day, but the multi-verse calls to all, and that call has to be heeded or the mind shatters.

Jaune has been lost before, exploring an infinitely expanding infinity means you can't avoid it. It took him 20000 years to discover how to find his way home and another 2708 to feel those comforting vibrations of home.

Jaune wasn't going to waste 20000 years this time. His mind had settled and it was time to go home to her.

Meaning he now needs a compass.

He spread his mind back into the infinite sea of the multi-verse for as far as he could see, looking for favourable, strong emotions coupled to wills that can change worlds, and whose souls would recognise his own.

He found them quickly. Happiness, sadness, rage, joy, resentment, fear, love, despair... the full spectrum of emotion burning strong, and shinning beacons of will.

Jaune willed himself to their universe and reshaped his dimension to resemble it, and then he pulled them in.

/

"What the fuck just happened!" shouted Qrow as he rubbed at his eyes trying to restore his sight. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Ren, Nora, Oscar and Maria were all in similar states. Blake and Maria being the worst hit by whatever blinding light flashed in front of their Atlas Bullhead as they approached the floating capital, surrounded by the full might of the Atlesian Air Fleet. Blakes faunus nature making her more susceptible to the sudden flash of light, while Marias artificial eyes needed to reboot.

"My Gods..." said Weiss as she looked around her, her eyes being one of the first to recover. "...This is the Vale CCT communications room..." she walked over to some of the large windows and looked out at an unspoiled Vale and Beacon. "...We're back in Beacon."

"Pst. No we're not. Beacon Tower was wrecked, no way we're there..." said Ruby as she walked to stand next to her pattern. Her expression turned to confusion as she looked out the window. "...Although..."

"This isn't possible. It would take a year or 2 to rebuild Beacon Tower..." said a squinting Blake as she and Yang stood next Ruby and Weiss. "...and decades to repair Vale to...this." finished Blake as she gestured out the window, her eyes going wide.

"Not to mention we were at least 3 days travel from Vale using our Bullhead. Despite how it appears, I don't believe this to be Vale." Said Ren as he and Nora walked over to join team RWBY. Nora stopped abruptly and spun round.

"Hey, where's Jaune!" Shouted Nora. Prompting everyone else in the room to turn and start looking for their friend.

Bing.

The elevator doors sounded and everyone jumped. Weapons locking into position or being made ready and all of them pointing at the elevators door as they opened, although Maria just pulled out a chair and sat down. The doors opened and Jaune strode out. At least he looked like Jaune. Alot.

He was physically larger and seemed to appear several years older. He still worn jeans and a hoody. His armour covering his torso the same gold and white, and he still had Crocea Mors on his left hip. However he now wore a long black trench coat with white and gold armoured Pauldrons and Bracers. His blonde hair was longer and nearly reaching his shoulders, though still shaggy. Lastly, he carried himself better...more confident and with strength.

"Wow Ladykiller. Hold it right there." said Yang, Jaune did come to a stop smirking in her direction. Yang wouldn't admit it to anyone, but this new Jaune definitely tickled her fancy a bit. Appearing older and just...more, than the one she remembered from barely a minute ago.

"Jaune..!" Shouted Ruby as she charged forward and around Jaune several times with her weapon going back behind her back. "...what happened to you? You look different?"

"I am the same as I have always been..." said Jaune, his hand coming up to rest on Rubys shoulder as he smiled down at her. "...older and wiser with every passing minute, but still me. I however, am not the Jaune that you all know. I am the first Jaune, the original. Your Jaune Ruby, is safe aboard the Bullhead I just pulled you all from." answered Jaune. Needless to say most of that answer was meaningless and only confused the people around him.

"Soooo...You aren't Jaune?" asked Nora, her hammer still ready.

"I'm not your Fearless Leader Nora, at least not as you know him. I am THE Jaune. I have brought you all here because I need your help."

"Where is Jaune?! Who are you?" Shouted Ruby as she stepped away from this imposter. Her hands going behind her back to grip her weapon.

"As I said, he is safely aboard your bullhead. I can not bring him here before you ask. To do so would kill him..."

"Why? How could bringing Mr Arc here cause his death when neither Miss Rose nor Li Ren have been harmed?" Interrupted Ozpin from Oscars young form.

"Ozpin! You give Oscar back his body right now." Shouted Yang as she gripped the shoulders of the very young man.

"I can fix that if you like." said Jaune as he lifted his right hand to shoulder height and snapped his fingers.

In a flash of light a new man appeared standing next to Oscar and Yang. Late 20s to early 30s with an average physic and dark hair. He was wearing a green Gambeson under grey armour with dark coloured pants, and he carried a staff with a green crystal at its crown. The man looked around confused before looking at Oscar with astonishment.

"Oh my." said this new man.

"There you are. You need not fear for Oscar now Yang. Ozma is now removed from his person." said Jaune.

Qrow walked over to the new arrival gingerly.

"Ozpin...that you."

The man Jaune identified as Ozma turned to Qrow with a unblemished smile of joy on his face.

"It is Qrow. I remember everything...but I have my body back..." Ozma actually hugged himself. "...Thank you." whispered Ozma

"It's fine. It's not the death that you want so badly but, I don't want to kill you. The curse is still upon you Ozma..." said Jaune as he walked over to the wizard. "...Remanent isn't finished with you yet, and it's not my place to interfere...Well, much. I just need your help to get home."

"What are you?" asked Ruby, looking at this man before her that looks so much like one of her best friends. However, where she would usually look upon Jaune with trust and pride. She now looked at him with confusion and fear.

"I'm Jaune Ruby. The First Jaune. Give me a few minutes and I'll do my best to explain..." pleaded Jaune. Ruby kept looking at him with her fearful and confused expression for a few more seconds before she took her hand away from her weapon. The rest of her team as well as Ren and Nora did the same, following her lead. "...Thank you. Is anyone here familiar with the multi-verse theory?" asked Jaune. He looked around and saw mostly blank expressions aside from one.

"The one where every action we take could result in a new universe being created for every other action that could have possibly taken place. You're saying you're from one of these other universes..?" asked Maria from her seat. Looking rather calm despite the current situations. Everyone looked round at her. "...what? I've been watching a lot of documentaries and reading a lot of different books since I had to retire, going from a life of action to retirement ain't easy."

"Well...that is what I'm talking about. Although it's every different path every atom in the universe can take, in every instant. I come from the first universe, I am the very first Jaune Arc, and due to the multi-verses infinitely expanding infinity it can be very easy to get lost in the multi-verse. Some are so different that your minds couldn't even grasp what it was looking at before you crumbled into madness, some, your senses would be useless and you wouldn't be able to physically perceive that universe at all. Some are so similar that no one could ever tell the difference unless you could find that 1 atom that moved differently between those 2 entire universes."

"Great. So you're our Jaune from a different universe. How the hell do you expect us to help you..?" said Yang with her hands on her hips. "...you just snapped your fingers and made a new body for Ozpin. You've somehow fixed all of Vale and transported us thousands of miles and you had better have turned the autopilot on for Jaune."

"I'm impressed you followed everything that's going on Yang..." said Weiss as she stood next to her buxom blonde friend. "...I sometimes forget that the bimbo act is an act."

"Love you too Ice Queen."

"Luckily for me lots of sci-fi helps me keep up." said Ruby as everyone started to relax now that they gathered that they weren't in any danger.

"I'm hungry..." muttered Nora as she plopped herself on the floor. "...we haven't eaten since we left Argus."

"That's not a problem Nora. Your bodily functions have been suspended..." said Jaune, getting every ones attention again. He turned to Yang. "...You're not looking out at your Vale Yang. We are currently in a pocket dimension I created for myself for when I explore the multi-verse, I have altered it to try and make you all more comfortable. It'll alter again and again as we travel to reflect our current location in the multi-verse. Your Jaune also has never been safer. Your universe recognises when a part of it is missing and will freeze itself until it has been wholly restored. I don't know why they do that, they just do, and it's very convenient really."

"We're going to be travelling?" asked Oscar, more afraid than ever now that he was in this situation without an ancient voice in his head to guide him.

"Yes Oscar. As we travel through the multi-verse I will be gauging your reactions to what we will be seeing. Those emotional reactions, the strong will of your minds and the blazing souls burning within you will be our guide. Your thoughts, feelings and souls will be looking for iterations of mine and then you will be taking us to them. Eventually our wondering will give me a bearing to my home. We will head in that direction until I can get a permanent fix, then I will send you home. Easy."

"We just need to watch these other universes?" asked Weiss.

"Yeah"

"How long will this take..?" asked Ozma. "You said our universe has frozen itself until our return and that our bodily functions have stopped, but my mind feels very active."

"Last time I was lost it took me around 22000 years to find my way back..." Jaune quickly raised his hands in a calming manor as everyone looked at him as if they were about to explode. "...but the first 20000 I was on my own. When I did this last time it took only 2000ish years to get home."

Their was a pause.

"WHAT!" shouted everyone apart from Maria and Ozma.

"Are you fucking kidding me with this!" shouted Qrow.

"Fuck That!" shouted Yang.

"2000 years in here!" shouted Weiss.

"We'll go mad!" shouted Blake.

"PANCAKES..!" shouted Nora.

Everyone turned to look at her. "...What?"

"This person suspended your bodily functions Nora." stated Ren.

"Exactly! 2000 years of my tummy rumbling. No siree Ren..." She turned to Jaune. "...PANCAKES..!" Jaune sighed and snapped his fingers again. In a flash of light a plate of Pancakes appeared in front of Nora and she quickly caught them before they could fall. She took a bite and nodded to herself. "...not to Ren standards but they'll do..." looking at Juane. "...We're good."

"Now then..." said Weiss walking up to Jaune with hands on her hips.

"Too late. Questions will have to wait..." said Jaune raising his hand to stop Weiss. "...That outburst has triggered the process. We're off." said Jaune smiling.

All save for Nora, who was happily eating, opened their mouths in shock before everything flashed white.

/

When everyone could see again they were standing in a large concrete room filled with very impressive but unfamiliar cars of various unknown types. Work tables and a small kitchenette with a staircase surrounded by glass panelling was on one side of the room and a large multiscreen computer terminal was off in one corner opposite the stairs. All in all the large garage/workshop screamed private resources and money.

"Nice!" shouted Yang as she stomped right up to the hotrod red Ford Flathead Roadster surrounded by clean, ordered tools and away from the other more modern looking cars on the other side of the garage.

"1953 Ford Flathead Roadster. Classic car from this universe." said Jaune walking up to stand beside Yang as she continued to drool over the machine.

"Hey! We're not done yet!" Yelled Weiss as she marched over.

Interrupting Weiss again, holographic emitters came to life around the room and started to form a large free floating screen in the middle of the room.

**_The room filled with automatic gunfire, and the screen showed Jaune running and hiding behind a large rock as gun fire followed. He flipped out some sort of small scroll and started typing frantically. A second later there was a wooshing whistling sound and a shell with the words `Arc Industries` landed a few feet from him. He yelled and scrambled away as the weapon exploded, flooring him. After a second of laying flat on his back blood started to flow from all over his chest, Jaune ripped open his suite shirt revealing personal armour, which apparently hadn't protected him from the shower of shrapnel._**

"Well...that was over quick. That version of you is dead. The shrapnel in his chest will shred his insides before to long..." commented Qrow as he reclined in the back seat of one of the convertible cars. "...I could use a drink."

"Uncle Qrow." muttered Ruby looking up at the ceiling.

"Where's Jaunes Aura? Has it not been unlocked in this universe?" asked Weiss.

"There is no Aura in this universe. Souls more often than not are dormant throughout the multi-verse. Glad to see you've calmed down a little." said Jaune.

Weiss humpfed and crossed her arms glaring at the first Jaune. "Oh we're not done."

**_The screen then started flashing as images of Jaune appeared with him tied down to a table. Blood was all over his chest, Jaune was thrashing and yelling until someone put a cloth to his chest and he seemed to go to sleep._**

"What happened there?" asked Ozma gesturing to the holographic screen.

"Perceptive Temporal Dislocation. Everything we're seeing is universal perception, mixed with ours and the Jaune we're watching. Unless we're invested enough in what we're seeing, we'll jump to parallel multi-verses which are further along in their lives. It'll settle again very quickly when all our perceptions are aligned again." answered Jaune.

"Errrr." mumbled Ruby.

"It means we'll be skipping the boring bits. Like watching this Jaune sleep." said Maria as she sipped a cup of coffee.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Ozma excitedly. Maria just pointed at the kitchenette. Ozma was rooting through cupboards in an eye blink.

**_The screen now showed Jaune waking with a start, he coughed and fumbled a little as he pulled a tube out of his nose._**

"God I hate those things...feels really weird." said Qrow wondering over to see what else was in the cupboards.

**_Jaune knocked a cup of water over in his confusion before noticing a man standing nearby shaving, and then he tried to reach for a bottle nearby when he was stopped by something pulling on his chest._**

**"_I wouldn't do that if I were you." commented the shaving man._**

**_Jaune rolled back over and saw a battery with wires going underneath the bandages surrounding his chest. He frantically ripped then away to reveal a large circular piece of metal embedded into his chest with the battery wires attached to it. Jaune started to breath faster as he tried to sort through in his head what was going on._**

"Oh my Oum. That's what they did to him?!" shouted Nora gesturing to the screen.

"What is it?" asked Ren.

**_A little while later Jaune was sitting on his bunk looking at the device on his chest with a small mirror as the shaving man cooked something over a fire._**

**"_What the hell'd you do to me?" asked Jaune softly. His voice still a little horse from yelling and screaming before he was knocked out._**

**"_What I did? Hm hm. What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, there's a lot left and it's heading into your Atrial Septum. Here want ta see? I have a souvenir..." The shaving man picked up a small sealed jar and gave it a little shake before tossing it to Jaune. "...Take a look..." Jaune looked, seeing some small very sharp looking pieces of metal._**

"Nasty looking fuckers aren't they. Not a good way to die." said Qrow unusually sombrely, despite having found a drink.

"Indeed my friend. I've had the unfortunate pleasure of suffering that lethargic end. Those around me suffered more of course. I knew my soul would find another host and I would live on, but that is small comfort for grieving loved ones as they watch you pass." said Ozma, rather detached considering he suffered through what the Jaune they are watching is going through right now. He received a couple of concerned and confused looks from teams RWBY and jNpR. Oscar looked even more lost while Maria was just watching the scene unfold.

**"_I've seem may wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."_**

**"_What is this?" questioned Jaune, interrupting._**

**"_That? Is an Electro-magnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart."_**

**_Jaune closed the hoody he was wearing and looked around the cave, quickly spotting the camera watching them._**

**"_That's right. Smile. We met once you know, at a technical conference in Bern."_**

**"_I don't remember." answered Jaune absent mindedly, looking off to the side in thought._**

**"_No you wouldn't. Hm hm. If I had been that drunk I wouldn't have been able to stand much less give a lecture on ah, Integrated Circuits."_**

"Boy after me own heart." said Qrow saluting the screen**.**

**"_Where are we?" asked Jaune. _**

**_Before he could get an answer the door to the cave was hit and someone drew back a viewing slide to yell through at the prisoners._**

**"_Come on stand up..." hissed the man with Jaune, as he tensed up. He walked up to Jaune and grabbed him under his arm pulling him up. "...Stand up. Do as I Do. Come on put your hands up."_**

**_The door then swung open and a group of armed men walked in. Dressed in clothing in earthy tones and with obvious military purpose, but not._**

**"_Those are my guns? How did they get my guns?" said Jaune._**

**"_Do you understand me? Do as I do."_**

**_The man in the lead gestured elaborately as he gave a little speech in a language no one understood, but he seemed pleased with himself, and when he was finished he gestured to Jaunes' fellow prisoner to translate._**

"Super creepy vibes here. Do not like that guy!" said Yang pointing a finger and glaring at the man on screen.

"Damn right. Hope that Jaune breaks his legs!" shouted Nora as the two powerhouses fist bumped.

**"_He says `Welcome Jaune Arc. The most famous mass murderer in the history of America..." The main figure then spoke some more, and continued to do so with Jaunes' fellow prisoner translating. "...He's honoured...He wants you to build the missile...The Jericho Missile that you demonstrated..." The lead man gave them a picture and Jaunes' fellow prisoner showed it to Jaune. "...This one." The picture showed a wheeled missile launcher carrying 4 missiles._**

**_Everyone on the cave paused as they all waited for Jaune to answer._**

**"_I refuse."_**

"Yeah!" shouted Nora.

**_A second later and Jaune was being dunked in to a large trough of water and being held there as he yelled and thrashed about. Pulled out for a few seconds before being pushed back in again._**

**_Jaunes' chest magnet then sparked and seemed to glow._**

**"_Jaune."_**

Everyone looked at the screen in shock.

"Oh my Oum." whispered Nora.

"Was that Pyrrha?" asked Ruby.

"Well. This is an alternate universe. She must still be alive in it." said Weiss.

Ruby was overjoyed to hear Pyrrhas' voice again, but also felt a quick flash of guilt. She was liking how things were at the moment. They all knew that Jaune and Pyrrha shared something during the Battle of Beacon and that it hit Jaune like a sledge hammer when he was told she was dead. However they were getting closer now, and she liked it. Jaune was getting stronger and smarter every day. Ruby and Jaune complimented each other well in their shared leadership roll. She loved how he hugged her like a large warn blanket that can shield her from a charging Nuckelavee while she blew its head off. She didn't want to lose what she hoped to get, and looking back, what Pyrrha always wanted.

**_After a while, Jaune was lead out of the caves with a bag on his head to obviously prevent him from figuring out the route from his cell to the cave entrance. _**

**_When the bag was torn from his head and his eyes had adjusted to the light, he saw a lot of weapons underneath camouflaged netting. They made their way a little bit from the cave entrance and displayed all the lethal tools in the large camp. Nearly every single one branded with Jaunes' company name. `Arc Industries`._**

**_The lead man spoke again and Jaunes' fellow translated._**

**" _He wants to know what you think?"_**

**"_I think you got a lot of my weapons." answered Jaune. The lead man wondered around talking again._**

**"_He says ah, they have everything you need to build the Jericho Missile. He wants you to make a list of materials...he says ha, for you to start working immediately and when your done, he will set you free."_**

**_Jaune reached for the lead mans out stretched hand and shook it smiling._**

**"_No he won't." said Jaune._**

**"_No he won't." confirmed his fellow._**

"I like that guy." said Qrow.

"Jaunes' gonna kick their asses. I can tell. I have a sixth sense about when ass is going to be kicked." said Nora smugly. Complete faith in her fearless leader, even an alternate one.

"So this Jaune apparently heads a weapons manufacturing company. `Arc Industries`, I like it. Has a nice ring to it." commented Weiss.

"Then why'd these guys tell him to build a missile for them. Wouldn't ransom be better for them. How many CEOs know how to do what their companies actually do?" asked Yang.

"Maybe his more hands on. I hope he gets rescued soon." said Ruby.

"He will be fine. If he's anything like our Jaune, and I've seen some comparable behaviour, he's already planning several means of escape." said Ren, just like Nora, having complete faith in his leader/brother.

**_Jaune and his fellow prisoner were back in their cave cell sitting in front of a fire._**

**"_I'm sure they're looking for you Arc. They will never find you in these mountains..." Jaunes' fellow prisoner knelt beside Jaune. "...Look, what you just saw, that is your legacy Arc. Your lifes' work in the hands of those murderers! Is that how you want to go out? Is this the last act of defiance of the great Jaune Arc..." as Jaunes' fellow was talking Jaune himself just stared into the fire. "...Or are you going to do something about it?"_**

**"_Why should I do anything..." started Jaune before his fellow stopped talking. "...they're going to kill me, you, either way if they don't I'll probably be dead in a week."_**

**"_Well then, this is a very important week for you. Isn't it? Hmm." _**

**_They then jumped to a little later and their cave prison was a hive of activity. Men were carrying equipment and weapons in all directions. With Jaune giving out instructions and telling them what equipment he wanted with his fellow translating. A little later still and Jaune is now working on the weapons that had been brought in._**

"Well. Looks like you called it little Missy. Hands on guy. He must design nearly everything himself if he can field strip his missiles under duress with no reference material." commented Maria

Yang stifled a snort.

"Really Yang? Jaune appears to have been kidnapped by terrorists and forced to work for them and you're snorting at missile penis metaphors." shouted Weiss, earning a look from Ruby.

"Come one Wice cream. Jaunes' going to get out of this. He's throwing his weight around already. He'll be fine." said Yang smugly.

**"_How many languages do you speak?" asked Jaune as he was dismantling one of his missiles._**

**"_Alot, but apparently not enough for this place. They speak Arabic, Urdu, Dari, Pashto, Mongolian, Farsi, Russian."_**

"Why the hell would they have so many.!?" asked Weiss. "...They all look human to me."

"More often than not, worlds are split between many cultures. This one has thousands of different ones, probably why they fight so often. They all believe and sometimes think differently." said Jaune.

**"_Who are these people?" asked Jaune as he pulled out the electronics support cradle from the missile._**

**"_They are your loyal customers sir. They call themselves the Ten Rings."_**

**_A few minutes later and Jaune was still stripping down missiles with his fellow not yet being put to use._**

**"_Now, we might be more productive if you include me in the planning process."_**

**"_Yaha." said Jaune rather dismissively._**

**_Jaune started hitting the tip of a missile, making his fellow winch, until the tip came away and he reached inside and pulled out a large component of the missile. He started to strip this part down even further before picking up a small metal piece._**

**"_Ok we don't need this." and promptly throw the rest over his shoulder and showing his fellow what he had extracted._**

**"_What is that?"_**

**"_That's Palladium .15 grams. We need at least 1.6 so why don't you break down the other 11?"_**

**_Later, Jaune was preparing a smelting cup and his fellow picked up a cup of melted Palladium._**

**"_Careful, careful. We only get one shot at this." said Jaune, hovering over his fellows shoulder as he carefully move from the furnace to the smelting cup._**

**"_Relax. I have steady hands. Why do you think you are still alive?"_**

**_Jaune put his car battery onto the table with a thud as his fellow carefully poured the liquid metal into the mold._**

**"_What do I call you?" asked Jaune._**

**"_My name is Yensen."_**

**"_Yensen. Nice to meet you."_**

**"_Nice to meet you too." said Yensen as he stood from his contribution._**

**_Jaune then started delicately building and soldering together the components he had just extracted from missile or created by hand from the materials until he was sitting in front of the completed device. He slowly moved a lever bringing his creation to glowing blue life and filling the cave with a deep hum._**

"Wow! I don't know what it is, but its looks boss." said Yang.

"And not missile shaped from what I can tell." said Oscar sheepishly. Slowly having walked up to stand amongst the older teenagers.

"That's cause it part of Jaunes' master escape plan." shouted Nora, throwing an arm around the young man.

**"_Woo. That doesn't look like a Jericho Missile." said Yensen, leaning in to get a closer look at the device._**

**"_That's because it's a miniaturised Arc Reactor. I got a big one powering my factory at home..." Jaune gestured to the reactor. "...This should keep the shrapnel out of my heart."_**

**"_But what could it generate?" _**

**"_If my math is right, and it always is. 3 gigajoules per second."_**

"Are you kidding me?!" shouted Weiss and Ruby at the same time. Making all their friends around them jump.

"Ruby! Oum, what the hell!" shouted Yang.

"You Dolt! That equates to 3 Gigawatts. That little thing could power Vale!" shouted back Weiss as Ruby rubbed some drool from her chin.

"A dust reactor that can fit in the palm of your hand. That's the Hell Yang. With that thing I could turn Crescent Rose into Rail Gun! Hell! A Rail Super Cannon!" said Ruby, jumping up and down in excitement and squealing for joy.

"Ha..." started Yang smugly. "...Looks like I called it them."

Blake just sighed and face palmed at her partner.

**"_That could run your heart for 50 lifetimes."_**

**"_Yeah, or something big for 15 minutes..." said Jaune. They both then moved over to one of the work tables and Jaune laid out some of the diagrams he had been working on. Yensen scrutinised them and couldn't make heads nor tails of the odd diagrams. "...This is our ticket out of here."_**

**"_What is it?"_**

**"_Flatten them out and look." and Jaune did just that. The papers together formed a diagram of a hulking suite of armour with the Arc Reactor clearly meant to be in the middle of the chest._**

"Master Escape Plan! What did I say!" shouted Nora, shaking Ren wildly.

"That does look imposing. How is a suite of armour suppose to get him out though. He'll just be overwhelmed as he escapes." wondered Blake.

"It'll fly! Obviously!" shouted Nora.

"Yeah. That's obvious." threw in Weiss making it obvious how much she believed that.

**"_Woow. Impressive." said Yensen, awed._**

**_Time passed on. Yensen installed the Arc Reactor into Jaunes' chest and the two of them worked together for weeks making the parts for the suite in secret while pretending to work on the Jericho Missile. _**

**_Jaune and Yensen were playing a board game, they couldn't work all the time. Mental fatigue would set in and compromise their work, and it was too important to allow any faults to occur._**

**"_Good roll good roll." said Yensen._**

**_Jaune handed the dice to Yensen, you could see the Arc Reactor glowing past Jaunes' shirt._**

**"_You still haven't told me where you're from."_**

**"_I'm from a small town called Gulmira. It's actually a nice place."_**

**"_Got a family?"_**

**"_Yes, and I will see them when I leave here. And you Arc?" asked Yensen expectingly, as if he already knew what the answer will be._**

**"_No."_**

**"_No? So you're a man that has everything, and nothing."_**

"I really like that guy. Got his head on straight and priorities right." said Qrow, back to lounging in one of the convertible cars.

"How would you know? All you do is drink and fight." asked Yang rather hotly.

"You know why I can't have a family..!" shouted Qrow. "...I curse my bad luck about that every damn day!" Qrow then turned away pointedly avoiding the stares of all those around him.

Yang hung her head hearing that. She did know that and knew the second she said it that it was unfair. Qrow would have made a good dad. Not great, but a damn good one.

"Jes Yang..." muttered Ruby. "...that was mean."

"I know. I don't why I just said that."

"He's a Branwen..." muttered Blake. "...I think sometimes you tar Qrow with the same brush as your mother because they are related. Forgetting how different they are."

**_The weeks turned into months and Jaune and Yensen continued to work day after day creating the means of their escape little by little. Cutting metal, welding it into new shapes. Crafting servos and joints and programming code._**

**_However the patience of their captures wasn't infinite._**

**_The viewing slide slid open and the lead man shouted through. He opened the door and lead his men in pointing their weapons at Jaune and Yensen as they stopped work and raised their hands above their heads._**

**_However a lot more people came into the cave this time. Over a dozen and they made way for another to walk between them calmly, almost relaxed. He approached Jaune and Yensen._**

**"_Relax." said this new man, the obvious leader of this group, surpassing the one Jaune use to think was in charge. Jaune and Yensen both lowered their arms._**

"Ok. The other guy gave me creepy vibes, this one, evil vibes." said Yang.

"Strikes me as the self-righteous type." said Blake in disgust. Knowing how far the self-righteous can fall thanks to Adam.

**_This actual Leader walked up to Jaune casually and examined the Arc Reactor implanted in his chest for a moment._**

**"_The Bow and Arrow, once was the pinnacle of weapons technology..." the leader started walking around examining everything. "...It allowed the Great Genghis Khan to rule from the Pacific to the Ukraine. An empire twice the size of Alexander the Great, and four times the size of the Roman Empire..." the leader picked up the diagrams Jaune had drawn showing his armour. He looked to Yensen and Yensen gestured for Jaune to relax and stay calm. "...But today, whoever holds the latest Arc Weapons rules these lands, and soon..." the leader put the papers back down and turned to Jaune. "...It will be my turn."_**

**_The leader walked right up to Arc and they stared at each other for a second before the leader started talking to Yensen in a different language without turning from Jaune. He then turned and walked over to Yensen talking to him directly. Yensen was then grabbed by 2 of the terrorists and forced to his knees while the leader walked over to the furnace and started poking at it with prongs. When he turned from the heat he was holding a red hot piece of coal in the prongs._**

"Oh my Oum. They aren't going to torture him are they?" asked Ruby fearfully. Some of this hadn't been to bad to watch. Making that Reactor and watching Jaune and Yensen talk and play a game was pretty cool, but they were still being held by terrorists. They were both very far from being safe and Ruby couldn't help but fear.

**"_What does he want?" asked Arc, fear and concern conflicting within him. _**

**_The leader grabbed Yensens' head and lowered it down to the anvil he was kneeling in front of. He started questioning Yensen over and over and Yensen giving the same answer and the leader getting louder and louder._**

**"_What do you want? A delivery date..?" said Jaune stepping forward and as he did every gun in the room pointed at him and the leader looked at him expectingly. "...I need him. Good assistant."_**

**_The leader dropped the piece of smoking coal next to Yensens face and threw the prongs passed Jaune onto the ground._**

**"_You have till tomorrow, to assemble my missile."_**

**_After the terrorists had all left Jaune was once again hard at work. He was working a forge and anvil and as luck would have it he was completing the last and most obvious piece of his armour. He hammered away at the heated metal shaping it into the required form and dunked it in water before placing the steaming piece of metal in front of Yensen. Steam raising out of the eye holes and mouth grill of the armours face plate._**

"Ok. He did not look bad just then. Obviously a civilian, but still good. What'd you think Weiss? Know any CEOs that can pull off the hot blacksmith look?" teased Yang, more to try and ease the tension after nearly seeing someone get branded by burning hot coal than anything else. Although she did like the look of what she just saw.

"Well a lot of CEOs do like to keep fit. A healthy body equals a healthy mind after all. However I doubt any of them have any clue of how to use an anvil and hammer." said Weiss.

"We all know what Ruby thinks." teased Qrow. Making Ruby turn beat red and glare at him.

"Ha! You're right there. Little Rubes here could tell us exactly what that Jaune was doing to shape the metal and probably has ideas of how his going to secure it too. Ain't that right Rubes." said Yang as she grabbed Ruby in a headlock as her arms and leg flayed wildly.

"Shut up Yang! I was not thinking about that at all!" shouted Ruby, Blake raised an eyebrow at that comment having noticed how red Ruby went.

"Children." muttered Maria with a laugh.

**_Jaune and Yensen were now ready. The armour was finished and now it was time to put it to use. They worked seamlessly as they prepared the armours numerous parts to be fitted to Jaune. After an hour or so, that seemed longer to the 2 soon to be escapees, the chest piece for the armour was lowered into place about Jaunes' chest and the Arc Reactor shone through brightly._**

**"_Ok...Can you move? Ok, say it again." said Yensen as he continued to assemble the armour around Jaune._**

**"_41 steps straight ahead, then 16 steps. That's from the door, fork right, 33 steps turn right." recited Jaune, knowing that to get lost in this cave maze will be to die._**

**_A minute later the viewing slide on the door was pulled back yelling came through._**

**"_Say somethin, say something back." said Jaune._**

**"_He's specking Hungarian. I don't know..."_**

**"_Then speck Hungarian."_**

**"_Ok ,I know..."_**

**"_What do you know?" asked Jaune. Yensen started yelling something back but it apparently wasn't what they wanted to hear as Jaune heard the locking bar move on the door as Yensen continued working. At the last moment they both braced._**

**_BANG!_**

**_The explosion rocked the cave and threw the doors back and into the men behind it that died from the impact, Yensen and Jaune were spared from most of the flying debris as they had placed their workstation knowing that the bomb Jaune made was there._**

"Yeah! Stage one of Jaunes' Master Escape Plan is in effect. `OPEN DOOR`!" shouted Nora throwing a fist into the air.

**"_How'd that work?" asked Jaune as Yensen looked at where the door to their prison use to be._**

**"_Oh my goodness. It worked alright."_**

**"_That's what I do."_**

**"_Let me finish this."_**

**"_It's finished..." said Jaune. "...Initialise the power sequence."_**

**"_Ok." Yensen moved over to a laptop on the table._**

**"**_**Now."** _

**"_Tell me tell me."_**

**"_Function 11, tell me when you see a progress bar..." Yensen pushed the button. "...It should be up right now. Talk to me tell me when you have it."_**

**"_I have it." _**

**"_Press Control I. I Enter. I and Enter. Come over here and button me up." Yensen ran back over and started tightening the fasteners._**

**"_Ok, all right."_**

**"_Every other Hex Bolt."_**

**"_They're coming!" shouted Yensen._**

**"_Nothing pretty, just get it done."_**

**_They could both hear shouts and yelling coming from the entrance to their cave cell. Yensen was watching the progress bar on the laptop progress maddeningly slowly._**

**"_Make sure the checkpoints are clear before you follow me out ok."_**

**"_We need more time..." Yensen turned from the computer and looked at Jaune trapped in his, at the moment, powerless armour. "...Hey, I'm gonna go buy you some time." Yensen then moved away towards the entrance._**

**"_Stick to the plan! Stick to the Plan..!" yelled Jaune, a moment later he heard his only friend for the last 3 months running and firing an assault rifle. "YENSEN!" shouted Jaune as he looked back at the laptops screen helplessly._**

**_It seemed to take an age, but eventually the process completed and power ran around Jaune as his armour came to life. He ripped himself free of the cradle supporting his and his armours weight just as some of the terrorists fearfully entered his cove prison. He stood as still as he could, waiting for the right moment to announce his presence to his captors. One came close enough and he lashed out, the hit sent the man flying across the cave, the impact with his metal gauntlet crushing the mans chest and the impact with the cave wall braking his skull. The others at the entrance fired wildly into the cave hoping to hit something, when they stopped he marched up and illuminated them before him with the blue glow of his Arc Reactor. He smashed the 2 nearest to him to either side killing them like he did the first and then marched through gun fire and hit the last terrorist into the dirt._**

"Do you see that thing! That is badass personified right there..!" shouted Yang, she pulled Ruby into her chest and pointed at the holoscreen. "...you have got to figure that out."

"Let go..!" shouted Ruby forcing her head between Yangs tits and then escaping under her arm. "...I can't use that thing..." said Ruby taking large gulps of air. "...it's too heavy it'll slow me down too much. I also have no idea how to make armour!" shouted Ruby.

**_Jaune marched down the cave tunnels. Thunderous footsteps competing with gunfire. Jaune shrugged off the bullets directed at him as he was charged repeatedly by people who had no idea what they were going to do. He smashed all that got close into the cave walls or sent them flying down tunnels. The power behind the hits killing his captors before they hit the ground._**

"Jaunes' being pretty merciless at the moment." said Blake as another terrorist was pounded into the dirt. With no Aura for protection the hit would have caved in his ribs, either killing the man outright or forcing him to die slowly as his lungs filled with blood.

"His goal is to escape and find his friend. I wouldn't hold back either if I was in his place. A knocked out person can wake up, and then he'll be behind you. Best to leave the path behind you empty." said Qrow. Although both Ruby and Yang knew that Qrow would have had to do some pretty nasty things in his work against Salem, it always threw them for a loop. Their loving uncle has killed, probably a lot.

**_By now the terrorists were running for their lives. Their weapons couldn't stop Jaune and they couldn't get close because he'd bludgeon them to death in a single hit. A single terrorist was ahead of him as he stomped down the tunnel and his fellows sealed a door behind him. He turned to run as Jaune got closer and found the way closed. The terrorist started pounding on it in panic and then turned as the light being emitted by the Arc reactor glowed around the panicking man._**

**_Jaune drew his arm back and struck. No hesitation or mercy for his captors. The dead body fell to the floor and Jaune pounded on the metal door with his enhanced strength provided by his armour. After the 3rd hit on the doors they flew from their frame crushing at least 1 additional terrorist as the rest continued to flee._**

**_1 attempted hit that missed its target got his arm lodged into the cave wall and while he was trying to free his arm a terrorist snack up behind him with a gun drawn and pointing at Jaunes head._**

"Oh no!" said Ruby, worried that everything Jaune had gone through and all the work he'd done to free himself would be wasted by sheer bad luck. Although Qrow could turn that to his advantage in a fight, she doubted this Jaune could.

**_The terrorist fired and the bullet bounced off of Jaunes armoured head and straight into the terrorists. Jaune looked round wondering what had caused that terrible noise and ringing in his helmet that hurt his ears. When he turned back he gave his arm one last mighty pull and it came free. Jaune then continued towards the cave entrance. His loud echoing footsteps giving the terrorists ample warning to escape as Jaune met less resistance._**

**_Close to the entrance Jaune came across Yensin laying on some sand bags fighting to breath._**

**"_Yensin!" yelled Jaune as he started to walk towards his only friend here._**

**"_Watch Out!" yelled Yensin weakly as less than a second later a grenade was launched at Jaune by the terrorist leader exploding just a few feet from Jaunes head._**

**_Never to be out done Jaune primed the only ranged option he had and fired a small missile in retaliation. The burning debris and rock fell onto the leader and he collapsed, either dead or unconscious._**

"Did he really have to kill all these people?" asked Ruby quietly and mostly to herself. Yang looked round and was about to say something in defence of Jaunes actions when she paused to think about it a bit deeper. As far as Yang was aware, only she and Blake have ever taken a life.

Adam.

At the time when she was still high on adrenalin and the sheer relief that she wasn't the one who was dead, she felt pretty good about it. As minutes ticked by she became more conflicted. She didn't regret it, but she had killed someone. An act that she herself considers evil, but that she rationalised away.

"I'm sure he wouldn't if he could help it Ruby. You know Jaune. The right thing is just what he does. However in this situation..." said Ren gesturing to the holographic screen. "...I think months trapped, tortured, the constant fear and stress. It doesn't make it right, but I think it can't be helped."

"Yeah. Jaune maybe hard at times but he's no killer. Our fearless leader's better than that." shouted Nora trying to cheer Ruby up.

Nora was right, although they looked so similar, but older and with a blond beard, this wasn't her Jaune. Ruby nodded to herself and returned to watching the screen.

**_Jaune walked over to Yensin and threw a sandbag that was on top on him out the way. _**

**"_Arc..." breathed Yensin, his face was pale from blood lose and he was sweating when Jaune lifted his face mask._**

**"_Come on. We got to go. Move for me. Come on. We got a plan. We're gonna stick to it." said Jaune. He knew what the answer was going to be, but Jaune stubbornly stuck to that little bit of hope that maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked._**

**"_This was always the plan Arc" breathed Yensin. The effort to speak obvious._**

**"_Come on, you're going to go see your family. Get up." Jaune pretty much ordered desperately. This was his friend for the last 3 months trapped in this hell hole. He wanted Yensin to march out with him and escape this place._**

**"_My family is dead."_**

Everyone turned as they heard a loud crash from behind them near the cars. Qrow had punched one of the expensive looking vehicles leaving a large dent and deformed metal. Qrow slowly removed his arm from the creator he'd just punched into the car.

"It's always the fucking same!" snarled Qrow. Ozma walked up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Indeed it is my friend. The strong in humanity preying on the weak. That is why we fight, to show the world what the strong should be doing." said Ozma. The teens turned back to the screen and Qrow shrugged off Omzas' hand.

"Don't think I've forgotten everything you thought I didn't need to know." whispered Qrow as he tried to walk past before Ozma stopped him grabbing his shirt. Qrow looked up into this unfamiliar face of one of his oldest friends and teacher. Omzas' eyes held a spark of anger, something Qrow didn't see often and knew to be wary of.

"We are fighting a war against a being that can't die with the fate of all life on Remanent in the balance..." whispered back Omza. "... I WILL do what I must." Qrow grabbed Ozmas' arm and pushed it aside.

"I'm on board with that, but I want the truth Ozpin, Ozma? Whatever your name is now? I dedicated my life to a task that can't be done. It's time for a new plan. One that doesn't involve throwing away the lives of children every generation." Qrow marched past Ozma looking for a new place to sit.

Ozma turned as well and saw THE Jaune looking right at him. He gestured to the screen and Ozma walked back to stand behind the teens watching the scene unfold.

**"_I'm going to see them now Arc. It's ok. I want this. I want this." finished Yensin as his life continued to slowly drift away. Jaune blew out a breath and smiled. He didn't know why, relief that his friends suffering was about to end? The sheer stress and fear and anger finally getting to him and making him go nuts. He didn't know. What he did know, was that it was long past time to give this man his due._**

**"_Thank you for saving me."_**

**"**_**Don't waste it. Don't waste your life." said Yensin, and in a few quick breaths he had past on.** _

"That's so sad. I really liked him." muttered Nora to herself. Ren put an arm around her shoulders as they and everyone else continued to watch the screen sombrely, feeling the same way.

**_Jaune stood back up feeling the anger course through him again and looked towards the entrance of the cave, not 20 meters away now. He pulled the face mask back down and started marching towards the barrier between him and freedom. His footsteps echoing around him and undoubtedly warning the terrorists of his coming. He exited the cave and stood out in the sun light. Dozens of armed men surrounding the entrance with automatic weapons pointed right at him._**

**_A second later these men open fire and sparks went fly from Jaunes armour. He is staggered by the sheer number of weapons firing at him and the kinetic energy that thankfully couldn't pierce the armour he'd crafted. _**

**_After 10 seconds of continuous fire the terrorists stop and simply stare in awe. Only an actually tank could have taken all that weapons fire from modern assault weapons._**

**"_My turn." says Jaune, sounding calmer than he actually was with his anger simmering below the surface._**

**_Fire burst out of Jaunes gauntlets and bathes everything in its burning embrace. He walked away from the cave and spread the fire as far as he could reach, marching through their camp, taking fire all the time. These were his weapons being used to terrorise and kill innocents. He made them to continue his families legacy. To protect his home and nation and they were now here. In the hands of his countries enemies. He would not allow that._**

**_Jaune set fire to everything he came across, every single crate that bore his name. They started to exploded as the volatile contents reacted to the heat. A 50 cal, probably a Browning his distracted mind thought, started shooting at him too. Something broke in his leg armour, either a gear, chain or piston as the heavy rounds hit him. It was time to leave. Everything around him would soon be gone, he didn't want to explode with it._**

**_He stood up and pushed the ignition switch on his arm and the rockets built into his feet fired. The explosions grew more intense as crate after crate detonated. _**

**_Jaune started to lift into the air._**

"WHAT DID I SAY!" shouted Nora.

**_Everything was exploding now and Jaune was surround by intense heat and flames as he continued to swore upwards. _**

**_The entire valley that the cave was in them went up in a huge fire ball that chased after Jaune until Jaune outpaced it and escaped into cooler air. He continued to swore away into the sky until the engines in his feet gave out. At which point he started falling. Very far. He screamed as his uncontrolled decent continued with parts of his armour finally falling off as it gave up trying to stay together. _**

**_Jaune than crashed into a sand dune creating a small creator and burying himself up to his waist. He started throwing off broken bits of his armour. Most of it really from his arms and threw his helmet off before laying still for a few moments in exhaustion. _**

**"_Not bad."_**

"Not BAD!" shouted Nora, shaking with pent up energy and shocked that after something so awesome occurred he'd be so nonchalant about.

"That was fucking awesome!" shouted Yang, starring gobsmacked at the screen that then promptly disappeared.

"Control yourself you brute. Although I have to say that was an impressive and ingénues feat." said Weiss turning with the rest of her friends away from the now vanished screen since it was no longer there to hold their attention.

"Arh. You going all soft on our Fearless Leader now. That I think was the first compliment to come out of you." Teased Nora as she appeared very close over Weiss' shoulder making the petite young woman jump.

"Ahh..." taking a moment to compose herself. "...no Nora! That wasn't our Jaune remember. It's a different one from a different universe. Ours is still a huge fool."

"Me thinks she protests too much." said Yang appearing shoulder to shoulder with her fellow powerhouse as they both appraised Weiss with critical expressions as she looked back with a gobsmacked, shocked look.

"Ok guys, that'll do..." said Ruby as she walked up next to Weiss. Both to end the teasing of her partner and because she didn't really like where the implications lead. "...Although I didn't like all those people catching fire. That was really cool. Our Jaune is pretty smart when he actually tries. Do you think he'd be able to do anything like that?" asked Ruby.

"Jaune isn't really the academic type..." started Ren, with Nora gasping. "...although the 3rd strongest here, I don't think that type of technical exercise is within our Jaunes range."

"3rd strongest?" asked Blake.

"Not in ability, but in strength, easily. After Yang and Nora he is easily able to output the most in the form of brute strength, and I think he might be able to soak up more damage thanks to his constitution and massive Aura reserves than you 2..." said Ren nodding at Yang and Nora. "...but as I've said. Although he has a flexible mind he isn't academically gifted."

Everyone just looked at Ren for a moment as if he just grew a second head.

"Wow. That was like...3 or 4 whole sentences." said Yang. Nora than jumped on Ren and gave him a big kiss on the check and a bone crunching hug.

"Ohhh...I knew you had it in you."

"Jaune?" Everyone looked around to see Ozma standing in front of Jaune.

"Yes Ozma?"

"You have all the knowledge of every Jaune Arc?"

"I do." replied Jaune. Ozma thought that Jaune already knows what he's going to ask and could answer right now. However for whatever reason doesn't.

"Do you know how Salem can be defeated?" asked Ozma. Everyone was silent. Could it really be this simple? Just ask this Jaune and then defeat Salem.

"Yes." answered Jaune. Everyone waited but he didn't say any more. He stood in front of Ozma like an immoveable statue. Ozma knew that few could maintain eye contact with him. The knowledge and pain of ages could be seen in his eyes no matter how old the body he inhabits, and some how, people can see or feel that. This time...looking into the eyes of this Jaune...Ozma found it difficult to not look away. His eyes may contain the ages of Remanent, but this Jaunes contained the ages of universes. He felt sorry for a second for the people he knowing turned his full gaze upon now.

"Will you tell me?" he asked again.

There was a pause of several seconds before Jaune answered. "You know...I'm not suppose to interfere with the universes..." said Jaune. He saw Ozma deflate and waited just an extra second for his own perverse enjoyment. "...much." finished Jaune and Ozmas' face at that one word was worth being a little bit of a dick to the poor guy.

"I'll tell you what you need Ozma. You'll have to work out the rest for yourself..." said Jaune, pausing again.

"You're being mean you know." said Ruby, with a cute scowl, which wasn't at all intimidating. Jaune just smirked.

"You need Ruby, and you need Jaune. Both need to be fully committed to the cause for it to succeed."

"Awesome. We're all set then!" shouted Nora striking a dramatic pose on Rens' shoulders.

"Are you?" asked Jaune. Causing the atmosphere of relief to evaporate.

The room began to glow at that question, and in a flash of blinding light everything around them changed.

(Crossover = Iron Man)


	2. Chapter 2

**Lost Arc**

**2**

"Is that going to happen every time!" complained Blake as she rubbed her eyes from the blinding flash that transported them to this new universe.

"I'm sorry Blake, but yes. It takes a lot of energy to breach the dimensional borders. The flash of light is the expenditure of that energy. It's either that or a massive and very lethal dose of radiation." answered Jaune as he looked around the space he and the people of Remanent now found themselves in.

"Here you go Kitty Cat." said Yang as she walked up to her partner removing her aviators from her chest pocket and handing them to Blake as her eyes adjusted.

"Thanks."

"Are we in a cave?" asked Maria, finding another chair in front of what looked to be a bank of computers, although the keys were replaced with several touch screens and some sort of single handed keyboard.

"Looks like it. Hope you filled up on coffee before we came here Oz." commented Qrow snarkily.

"I don't think so..." said Ren as he walked up to and brushed his hand against the wall near some large blast doors. "...this doesn't look or feel like rock. It's so smooth."

"We are actually on a planet called `Shakespear`." said Jaune as he walked to the centre of a raised platform behind the bank of computers. It looked like this was were someone of importance would speak while 5 others would man the computers in front of said speaker. Why he would need to address an empty cave was anyones guess though.

"Ok. This cave sucks..." said Nora before she started jumping up and down. "...but being on a different planet is so cool! Can we go outside?"

"I wouldn't recommend it. You can breath the atmosphere but you'd pass out after a few minutes without supplementary oxygen." said Jaune.

"Jaune? What did you mean when you said our Jaune wasn't committed?" asked Ozma as he walked up to Jaune. Jaune turned and regarded him, and everyone else did the same, regarding the 2 men in silence.

"I've already given you my assistance Ozma. I wasn't kidding when I said I'm not suppose to interfere with your universe. A smart man would take his good fortune, and save his world." said Jaune.

"You know...You know how to free me from this curse! You know how to save everyone on Remanent!" shouted Ozma as he took a step towards Jaune.

"Interesting the order of priority you put those in." said Jaune. No fear or concern at all with one of the most powerful men on Remanent getting angry right in front of him.

Ozma just starred at him shocked. He needed this information. His rest was beckoning. After thousands of years of torment and pain, watching countless friends die around him only to be forced to watch it happen again and again with new faces and hopes and dreams. A man can only take so much.

The green crystal atop Ozmas' staff glowed a bright green that illuminated the entire cave, he channelled all his power and rage and hate and despair and grief, a thousand years worth of regrets and he struck with everything yelling at the top of his voice as everyone around him shielded their eyes and braced against the power on display. All save 1.

Jaune simply caught the crystal in his hand. The light flashing between Jaunes fingers pulsing and starting to whine as the power built with no release.

Jaune then clenched his fist and the crystal shattered. The power exploding outwards without the containment vessel and threw Ozma half way down a walk way leading to the exit from the cave.

The light faded and everyone looked back to see Jaune standing as he was before, completely un-fazed.

He let the crystal pieces fall from his hand as he walked towards Ozma, who had gotten to his knees and was on the verge of tears.

Jaune knelt in front of him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright Ozma. Don't think I'm indifferent to the pain you feel. You are a good and strong man, but everyone has a limit. You have reached yours several times, and you have always picked yourself up and grown stronger for it." tears began to fall down Ozmas' face as he gave in to them for the first time in hundreds of years. Everyone was silent and still watching in morbid fascination. This was their headmaster. This was an immortal wizard with more power than any of them, and he was on his knees crying.

"I just want it to end..." begged Ozma. "...I did nothing to deserve this fate. I saved a young woman from captivity and was then cursed to be dragged with her through eternity. I had no idea of her crimes against the brother gods until they told me. I didn't want our family to die as she flew into a rage. She knows that when the Brothers return they'll simply kill everything if Remanent stays as it is. She'll be the only thing left on a dead planet. She knows all this and yet, all she wants to do now is damn us all. I just want it to end." finished Ozma, the defeat in his voice carrying to all those around him. They had judged him, and pushed him away when they learned that Salem couldn't be defeated and all they seemed to be doing was pointless. None of them however had an inclining of what Ozma must have been enduring. They all felt ashamed, knowing that they all but ignored him when he tried to explain.

"It's alright Ozma..." said Jaune loud enough for all to hear and he pulled Ozma into a hug as more tears ran down the wizards face in a stream, Jaune then whispered to the wizard beyond the hearing of everyone else. "...it will end soon Ozma. One way or another." Jaune then helped Ozma to his feet while the wizard looked at him with shock and awe. He then laughed quickly.

"Thank you Jaune. Thank you."

"We all need someone to lend us a shoulder every now and then. No one can bear the weight of a worlds fate alone."

"I'm so sorry I lashed out like that. I don't know what came over me."

"Pst, don't worry about it..." said Jaune as he smacked Ozma on the back causing the man to nearly fall over. "...you could've whaled on me till the universe died of heat death and you wouldn't have been able to scuff my coat." Jaune then turned and walked back to the platform overlooking the computers.

"Professor..?" said Ruby as she walked up to the shocked but giddy looking older man, her team a little behind her.

"Yes Miss Rose?"

"I'm really sorry..." said Ruby sheepishly. "...we had no idea how much you must have been suffering..."

"It's alright Miss Rose..." interrupted Ozma as he walked up and placed a hand on her shoulder. "...It's alright. I'd just been holding everything in a little bit too long."

A huge holographic screen then came to life taking up the entire unoccupied part of the cave. Rotating in the middle of the space was a huge ship. Elliptical engine housings at the stern leading to a blockier midship section before the bow shrunk down. All heavy metal with spot lights spread over the hull, looking like pinpricks.

Maria took her hands away from the touchscreen panels and studied the floating hologram.

"Hmmm. Well that's a thing." she muttered to herself. She wanted to see what exactly these controls could do and it appears they work. This wasn't just some setting for them to watch stuff. At the very least, it was connected to the universes they visit and acted like a library independent of their host.

"Oh my Oum that is so awesome..!" shouted Nora the drama with her headmaster now forgot with something new and shiny in front of her. "...where'd it come from..?" she then jumped on Ren. "...Can I have one?" Ren was calmly reading the vital statistics for the vessel as Nora clambered over him.

"It says here that this is a Dreadnought. It's a spaceship. A space warship." said Ren, a little disappointed.

"Ren?" asked Blake, picking up on his change of mood.

"A little disappointed that we achieve the miracle of getting into space, and then drag our conflicts with us..." he gestures to the holographic display. "...why else would we build a space warship."

"To protect us from invading alien baddies." said Nora. Her mood not being affected by Rens'. Which Ren knew meant she was right. He had no idea how, she just was whenever her mood couldn't be dampened. Sometimes he thought she could tell the future.

"Look at this thing..." shouted Ruby, she'd used her semblance to somehow get to the cave ceiling and was hanging from one of the alien, organic stalactites using her scythe to hold her in place. "...I think the entire front half of this thing is the main gun. Can you imagine the power behind this thing..!" finished Ruby as she semblanced back down to the platform and started bouncing in place next to Jaune. "...Will we see these things fight?"

"I would imagine so. Nearly all of your mindsets are combat orientated. So you will naturally direct us to universes where Jaune is an active combatant."

"So we'll only see versions of Jaune as a soldier or warrior, nothing else?" asked Oscar. Ozma walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. It was more comforting to Oscar than he wanted to admit.

"Combat isn't all that we are. I think we'll see more than just Jaune fighting." said the wizard.

"Very true Ozma, and you're right."

The dreadnought then just disappeared.

_**It was replaced with an image of a family dinner. 2 adults and 3 teenagers, the younger 1 looking like Jaune.**_

"Well, looks like it's starting. Do you have any control over this thing?" asked Weiss.

"Not really. I can override everything, but that resets the whole process. I've never really experimented to see what I can manipulate without restarting everything. This is only the 2nd time I've done this after all.

"_**Deep space intel shows us that the number of enemy ships already deployed is 10 times those we faced during the first invasion..." the family was watching this presentation on their television as they waited for their dinner to be ready. The screen showed a man at a podium while in the back ground the attacking ships of the invading force fired upon buildings and ground forces as answering human weapons fired back. "...The Formics are rebuilding and strengthening their fleet. We must conquer or die."**_

"_**Turn it off please John." said Jaunes mother after putting food down on the table. **_

"Completely agree. Gun fire is hardly the accompaniment for dinner." commented Weiss.

"Why doesn't Jaunes' mum look like Jaunes' mum?" asked Ruby thoughtfully as her head tilted to regard the screen, not that head tilting makes the image any clearer.

"Genetics, aren't really that big a deal when it comes to the soul. It'll shape the body to reflect itself. These parents may have made the body, but it belongs to the soul. Anyone could be Jaunes parents." said Jaune.

"When did you see Jaunes parents?" asked Yang sneaking up on Rubys' right.

"Yeah. We've seen pictures, but I don't remember seeing Ruby there." said Nora appearing on Rubys' left. Rubys' face went beat red and her head spun between Nora and her sister. Luckily the screen saved her.

"_**Why? You'd rather not know what's going on in the world?" said John dismissively. **_

"_**We must never again bear witness to the slaughter of 10s of millions of innocent people, as we did during the Formic invasion." The images on screen showed masses of people fleeing in terror and briefly, one of the alien ships floating above a city launching swarms of fighters.**_

"Did that guy just say 10s of millions..?!" shouted Maria, standing from the chair she claimed at one of the computers. "...That could be half the planets population."

"Half of Remanents' maybe. This planet is called Earth. During the Formic invasion the population was at around 6 or 7 billion, and around 50 million dead. So it hardly made humanity endangered."

"That's 50 million people!" shouted Blake. Shocked that anyone could be so blasé about so many lost lives.

"And I've seen the deaths of Trillions..." said Jaune calmly, everyone became very still. Open shock and horror displayed on the faces of everyone around Jaune. None could really comprehend that number in terms of picturing people. "...and more. I don't like it but to protect my mind and soul I've had to become rather cold when it comes to death, just like all from the first. The universe is infinite and we are exploring an infinite multi-verse. You will see death. A lot of it. However you will also see beauty beyond comprehension. Wonders beyond imagining. Joy, Happiness and Love that are so intense you will fall to your knees in tears of pure wonder that something so amazing could exist..." Jaune paused and took a breath as some of those times played in his mind and he smiled. "It's a trade off. You can't have good without evil and you can't have light without darkness. You'll understand in time. Now please." Jaune then gestured to the screen that was flickering. With no one watching, it was jumping between parallel universes that were a second or 2 younger waiting for its audience to give it back their attention.

"_**I'd rather you talk to your son." finished Jaunes mum as she sat down.**_

"_**Our survival demands total commitment to the destruction of the enemy." finished the television as it shrunk down **_

"_**If you want I'll go away. So you don't have to be embarrassed." said Jaune, almost glaring at his father.**_

"_**Ender?! No one is embarrassed." said Janues sister sitting next to him. Love and compassion written all over her face.**_

"She's so nice..!" squealed Nora shaking with pent up energy that she wanted to expend by diving into the screen and hugging Jaunes sister, instead she jumped on Ren, before she suddenly stilled. "...His names `Ender`?" she then asked turning to Jaune.

"It's his middle name here. `Jaune Ender Arc`."

"I've don't think I've ever heard of middle names before" muttered Ren, bearing Noras` weight like it was second nature as she cuddled into him.

"He looks so young there." muttered Weiss.

"_**I'm a third. I should never have been born." said Jaune.**_

"Crap. That sucks." said Yang.

"What's that about a third." asked Weiss.

"Population control. Jaunes parents were granted a waiver from this Earths government to have Jaune. A third child."

"_**No. We wanted you Ender. We just needed permission..." said Jaunes mother as she then turned to Jaunes father. Her eyes pleading. "...John. Please say something."**_

_**It took Jaunes father several seconds to say something. There was disappointment in his look that was directed at Jaune, but also a fatherly love for his son. The father won out.**_

"_**It's a tough program Ender. When they brought me to this county, there was less competition and still I didn't make it. You have nothing to be ashamed of...Nothing."**_

"Ok. Hard but fair guy. I can accept that. Guess this Jaune failed some exam or something." said Qrow as he took a swig from his flask that he filled up in the suit of armour universe.

_**A weird tinkling sound filled the room followed by a computerised voice that drew the attention of everyone in the room.**_

"_**Sensor alert. Front door." the television reappeared showing 2 people in uniform.**_

"That's General Ironwood!" shouted Weiss. Everyone could see it now. The man on screen was an older version of the Atlesian General. Although they knew that people they knew could be in these other universes they hadn't seen anyone else they knew yet.

"_**Please state your name." finished the computer voice.**_

"_**Colonel James Ironwood, Director of Training, International Fleet. This is my colleague Major Soleil. May we?" introduced the Colonel.**_

"Oh my Oum that's Ciel...she looks so much older there." shouted Ruby.

"Who?" asked Yang.

"It's Pennys' team mate from the Vytal Festival. Nice, but way obsessed about time. Weiss would like her."

"Hey!"

_**A few minutes later the four adults in the house surrounded Jaune as he stood before them all at what looked to be parade rest.**_

"_**Why did you keep kicking him? You'd already won the fight. Did you enjoy it?" asked Soleil standing right in front of Jaune.**_

"_**No."**_

"_**Then why? Speak up son." said Jaunes father, nervously as he stood to Jaunes right.**_

"_**Knocking him down was the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones to..." this seemed to get the attention of Ironwood and Soleil. A smile almost broke across Ironwoods face. "...so they'd leave me alone."**_

"_**Ender you should have asked a grown up for help." said Jaunes mother. **_

"_**Nonsense he can fight his own battles..." said Jaunes father coming to his defence and proud that his son defended himself so well. "...Colonel he was obviously being bullied and he defended himself."**_

_**The Colonel stood and addressed Jaune directly, not really paying attention to the parents in the room.**_

"_**Son...I'd like to offer you a place in our program." said Ironwood, the 3 Arcs in the room were stunned. They, and everyone else thought that the monitor being removed equalled a student being expelled.**_

"_**But you took away my monitor."**_

"Jaune what's a monitor?" asked Blake.

"I'll answer that deary..." said Maria as she taped away at the touch panels in front of her. A small hologram of a small metal disc with thin wires appeared before the group. "...says here its an implant that goes in at the back of the neck. Allows someone to remotely see and hear what another sees and hears. Talk about an invasion of privacy."

"Too right. Fuck that." shouted Yang.

"_**The final step in our evaluation is always to see what happens when the monitor is removed." said Soleil.**_

"_**And he passed..?" asked Jaunes mother, clearly shocked. "...he put a child in the hospital."**_

"I guess Jaune will always deal with bullies eventually." muttered Ren.

"_**It's not what he did. It's why he did it. It was tactical, a strategy to stop future attacks." said Ironwood, now fielding a small smile aimed at Jaune.**_

"_**Ender. You don't have to do this." said Jaunes mother.**_

"_**Ender and I should have a private conversation." said Ironwood as he walked up to Jaune and stood beside him.**_

"_**Absolutely not." said Jaunes father.**_

"_**With all due respect sir. You really can't stop me." said Ironwood starring Jaunes father down.**_

"That can't be right." exclaimed Oscar. He couldn't imagine someone just being able to walk into your home and throw demands around like that.

"No kidding. Our dad would throw a fit if someone tried that at our place." said Yang

"Unfortunately, after the Formic Invasion, which was only really won by sheer luck, the human race became traumatised by fear. The worlds population was willing to do anything to feel safe again. Including giving up their freedoms." said Jaune.

"That's insane." stated Weiss flatly.

"Not to them. During the invasion humanity was still confined to Earth and fought each other. After the Invasion people were terrified and had no way to strike back and prevent a second invasion. The Hegemony, the current government, gained power by telling the worlds population that they could enable humanity to defend itself and strike back. So long as they gave them control over the planet to do what needed to be done." said Jaune, his tone as calm as ever despite the rest of the audience being quiet angry.

"They had better have been able to deliver on that promise..." said Blake, seething just as much as her friends but holding it in better. "...They blow it they'll have planet scale riots."

"You aren't wrong there. However the Hegemony is only a temporary body and has promised to disband when the Formic are no longer a threat, and they delivered all right. Humanity went from a race with only 1 world to a fledgling Interstellar Empire in 50 years."

_**The scene jumped to Jaune and Ironwood sitting outside on a small garden bench. Cool, clear weather with the sight of the crescent moon bouncing light down onto the planet.**_

"_**The Formics might have wiped us out the last time you know. A brilliant commander is the only thing that saved us." said Ironwood sombrely, probably being one of the few people on the planet to know the true extent of how close the entire human race came to extinction. **_

"_**The Qrow." said Jaune with a sorrowful expression but also with pride, as would anyone on earth when they said the name of the Earths first universally accepted hero.**_

"Well fuck me. Am I in this thing too?" said Qrow, despite the language, his tone sounded more disinterested than curious.

"_**The Qrow... We need minds like yours Ender. Young people integrate complex data more easily than adults." said Ironwood as Jaune turned to him.**_

"_**Will the monitor be reinstalled?" asked Jaune hesitantly. No one wants someone else to be able to watch everything you say and do, eliminating all privacy. It also bloody hurt.**_

"_**No. You're graduating, to battle school. Privacy rights restored."**_

Nora was practically vibrating. Everyone noticed and knew to be careful when the powerhouse got excited with no outlet.

"Battle School?! That sounds awesome. It's going to be amazing. Hee hee. I bet it's in space..!" she yelled before calming, to everyones relief. "...I wonder what it's like in space?"

_**Ironwood put his hand on Jaunes shoulder. The gesture surprised the young man, this was Colonel Ironwood. This man ran the most mentally demanding program in human history. Kindness just wasn't something he'd ever thought applied to this unshakable warrior and teacher.**_

"_**If there's a chance that because of you the Formic might leave us alone forever. Then I have to ask you to come with me."**_

_**Jaune looked away from the Colonel as he thought about what he should do. He was finally home again with his family. He could do without his ass of a brother, Peter, but the love he knew came from his parents and sister easily eclipsed that. However, getting into Battle School was the aim of every child born. Humanities survival against the Formic was paramount. Everything everyone did on this world now, and the few others humans had moved too was for that goal. It only took a few seconds for Jaune to come to a decision.**_

"_**It's what I was born for right?" said Jaune, he looked to the Colonel as he nodded in relief. **_

_**Jaune told his family that night and left with the Colonel and the Major. He hugged his sister goodbye.**_

_**`Valentine was too compassionate for Battle School...` time skipped forward and showed a raised road leading to some sort of facility supporting an aircraft surrounded by reflective panels. Jaune and Colonel Ironwood were travelling in a sleek looking road car down the lone raised road. `...my brother Peter washed out because he was too quick to violence. Colonel Ironwood said I would need to find a balance between those emotions if I were to succeed.`**_

"Wait a minute? Jaunes not talking..?" said Blake. "...are we listening to a thought monologue?"

Jaune took a step forward and looked harder at the screen in surprise.

"It would appear so. Ha, you guys must really love Jaune to be able to penetrate so far into his Inner Space Perceptions."

"Well durh. Of course we do. Jaune is the best none Ren friend ever. I'm planning on writing to his family and asking them to make me an honorary Arc so I can be his sister." said Nora.

"Not me?" asked Ren, just as close to Jaune as Nora was.

"Course not. That would make us honorary siblings..!" shouted Nora like it was obvious. "...That'll make it weird when we start making like rabbits."

"NORA!" shouted Ren in shock and everyone was looking at them in surprise and embarrassment at the blunt statement, even Ozma. Maria just had a smirk on her face. Nora took that opportunity to jump on Ren.

"You guys are together...together now." asked Weiss, shocked at herself as well as Ren and Nora for making her actually say together together.

"Have been since we arrived in Mistral. Unfortunately a little PRIVACY..!" shouted Nora pointedly locking eyes with all her dear friends. "...is a little hard to come by."

"Errr. Socks on doorknobs?" said Yang shrugging.

"We tried that. Someone took it and put it in the wash. Jaune walked right in and I had to throw him out the window before he could see anything!" shouted Nora.

"Ohhh. That's why Jaune walked in that one time covered in bruises and tree branches that he didn't want to talk about. You know the fall is several hundred meters." said Ruby in her best scolding tone, which came out squeaky since images of her and Jaune behind closed doors were now flashing through her mind.

"How the hell was I suppose to know." shouted Weiss, drawing everyones attention. "...I just thought you were all being stupid, putting socks on doors indeed." huffed the heiress crossing her arms over her chest..

Everyone just starred at Weiss for a moment before Yang snorted.

_**Jaune had exited the car with the Colonel and entered the craft as someone over a PA system stated that a countdown had resumed. **_

"_**Join the others." said the Colonel.**_

"_**Go on." prompted Soleil, much more kindly.**_

_**Jaune walked into the passenger compartment and all conversation ceased as his peers appraised him. Jaune continued on and took the remaining free seat.**_

"_**You're late." commented the boy sat across the aisle from him.**_

"_**Out of my control..." Jaune put forward his hand. "...I'm Ender."**_

"Wait a minute! Is that Bronzewing?!" shouted Yang.

"Oh great. Looks like they'll let anyone into these things." muttered Blake, remembering the bullying Bronzewing helped carry out.

"_**Ender, pst. What kind of name is that?" laughed the boy.**_

_**Jaune was a little disappointed in the boys response, but soldiered on, keeping his hand raised.**_

"_**Look, what's your name." It took a second, but the boy accepted his hand.**_

"_**Name's Bean."**_

"_**Bean?" repeated Jaune.**_

"_**Grew up on the streets. Not worth a Bean." finished Bean, Jaune smiled content with this interaction. **_

_**Buzzers started sounding and Jaune quickly plugged himself into his launch harness as the ship was tilted into launch position. **_

_**A countdown from 5 started as the ship moved into the vertical position and when the count reached zero the rocket engines ignited, launching the craft and everyone on it upwards. The roar of the ships powerful engines being heard for miles.**_

"They're going into space!" shouted Nora excitedly, still clinging onto Ren.

"Nothing can get into space though..." wondered Weiss. "...Gravity Dust stops working when you leave the Mesosphere."

"They aren't using dust. They're using a mixture of liquid oxygen and hydrogen to create that thrust you're seeing." said Jaune.

_**The ships soared into the sky. The force of its acceleration crushing Jaune and his fellow passengers into their seats. It took several minutes before the massive pressures relented and Jaune and his fellows could relax, although, now they were in space and orbiting the planet. Jaune looked at his arms as they hung weightless in front of him instead of falling to his sides.**_

_**Everyone else was experiencing the same thing, enjoying and marvelling at what the human body feels like with no weight. Talking about how weird it felt. Watching unsecured items float past their heads.**_

_**Although wonder thundered through the minds of most of the teens present, one didn't feel that. A human body wasn't meant to be weightless and unfortunately one person wasn't able to control the contents of his stomach.**_

"_**I'm gonna be..." chocked one teen as he tried to stop himself from throwing up.**_

"_**Bag!" shouted Bean as he grabbed a sickness bag and past it down the row to the soon to be vomiting teen, and like most teens they couldn't keep quiet about voicing their disgust as a little vomit floated back out of the bag, but also how humorous it was for them to watch.**_

"A universe where Jaune doesn't throw up..." breathed Yang looking with a sorrow filled expression at her feet. "...what my shoes wouldn't give to be there."

_**The Colonel then floated back into the passenger compartment using the handrails mounted on the bulkhead to pull himself along now that the floor was meaningless.**_

"_**Close the Bag..." shouted Ironwood, to which the teen promptly complied. Jaune watched the Colonel move in the compartment and how he was orientated and couldn't help a small smirk. "...Are you alright..?" the teen just nodded. Ironwood looked around the cabin and quickly noticed Jaune smirking. "...what are you doing Arc?" asked the Colonel, putting all the attention in the space onto him.**_

"_**Nothing sir."**_

"_**Something funny..?" asked Ironwood "...I asked you a question Launchie." demanded Ironwood when Jaune didn't immediately respond.**_

"_**Sir, the way you're floating, horizontal. I thought that was funny."**_

"_**Really? Why?"**_

"_**Because in zero gravity there is no right side up. You may think you're vertical and we maybe horizontal."**_

_**Ironwood took a second to regard the other passengers.**_

"_**Is that funny?" he asked the whole compartment.**_

"_**Sir No Sir." came the prompt response.**_

"_**Yes it is. Alai, do you know what his talking about?"**_

"_**Yes Sir." answered Alai, the guy who threw up, obviously not knowing.**_

"_**No you don't..." said Ironwood, disappointed. "...There's only one kid on this launch with any brains at all so far, and that's Ender Arc." finished Ironwood pointing at Jaune. **_

_**Everyone turned to look at Jaune, appraising him again. Jaune being the one singled out before even reaching the school.**_

"Poor Jaune." said Ruby, seeing the teenagers face fall at being singled out.

"Ah. Don't worry Rubes. Despite the aliens, it sounds like his going to nerd camp. Ha you remember that? Good times." said Yang hugging her sister comfortingly. She then saw Rubys` eyes open wide as the screen.

"Definitely not like science camp." said Ruby and Yang looked back at the screen. Her own eyes going wide.

_**Jaunes` shuttle was in space. Manoeuvring unlike anything in an atmosphere could ever hope to replicate. The beautiful blue and green planet behind them with wispy looking white clouds that disappeared as the view followed the shuttle. A tiny tin can hurtling through space. After a few seconds the school came into view. A huge majestic mass of metal and ingenuity, spinning about itself and the world below it. It's most striking feature a massive clear ball filled with tiny little triangles supported by a lattice work of metal.**_

"EEEE. I wish I was a nerd! That thing looks so amazing!" shouted Nora.

"It's absolutely beautiful. Do you think we'll ever make anything like that?" said Blake standing next to Weiss, as Ruby teased Yangs gobsmacked expression and saying she bets Yang wants to be a nerd too now.

"I hope so..." answered Weiss. "...I mean Atlas itself is a technical wonder beyond anything else on Remanent, but this...just by where it is boggles the mind. We won't be getting into space through Dust Manipulation. It'll require new sciences." said Weiss, a bit of her was extremely excited about the prospect of reaching the stars. It was something no one on Remanent even considered any more since Dust doesn't work after passing 100 kilometres into the air. Weiss was considering it now, and when she claims the Schnee Dust Company she'll have resources to spare to investigate this new frontier.

"That's definitely no Beacon." said Qrow, the sight of this school in space pulling him out of his funk abit.

"Indeed. It is a wondrous thing to behold. It will never replace my home however. I will restore Beacon to its full, unparalleled glory. I will most likely include things we learn here too. After all this Jaune sounds extremely intelligent so far. Undoubtedly due to superior schooling." answered Ozma as they watched Jaunes shuttle attach itself to the main structure of the spacestation.

"_**All new arrivals follow the yellow lights to your accommodation. The yellow lights..." said a female voice over the stations PA system as the teens filed out of the shuttle marching down the slightly curved alleyway and past Colonel Ironwood and Major Soleil. As the voice stated, yellow lights ran along the alleyways directing them to where they were suppose to go. "...All new arrivals follow the yellow lights to your accommodation. The yellow lights." repeated the voice as Jaune exited the shuttle and walked up to both Ironwood and Soleil. **_

"_**Sir, you made them hate me." said Jaune directly to the Colonel.**_

"_**I told them you were the best. We need a Julius Caesar, a Napoleon." said Ironwood, trying to be inspiring.**_

"_**We hope that will be you." commented Soleil.**_

"_**Caesar was assassinated by the people he trusted." said Jaune.**_

"_**And Napoleon lost in the end." finished Soleil, giving Ironwood a flat stare.**_

"_**Not before he conquered the known world..." answered Ironwood addressing Soleils` comment before he turned back to Jaune. "...Dismissed."**_

"_**Yes sir." answered Jaune before he marched away.**_

"_**He has a complicated response to authority..." appraised Soleil when Jaune was out of hearing range. "...He wants to please the overbearing father figure, but resents a lack of reciprocated affection." **_

"_**His isolation can never be broken. He must never believe anyone will help him."**_

"I can't believe an educator would do that." said Ozma, shocked that this version of Ironwood could be so callous.

"It looks like a military academy Oz. You've been to Altas." said Qrow.

"Atlas does not try to mentally break its students."

"Atlas isn't an entire planet of billions committed to military perfection. I can see similarities, Atlas just doesn't go to these extremes."

"That is the worst father figure I've ever heard of..." said Maria. "...my ex was even better than that."

"You have a family?" asked Ruby.

"Oh no. My second cousin does though. Lovely people. When I heard him yelling at one of them I kicked him in the balls and threw his sorry ass out. Only time my aim was true since I was blinded. Cousins kids think I'm the most badass aunt ever."

"I really lucked out with you guys..." said Jaune smiling at the screen. "...you maintained perceptive awareness of events taking place outside of Jaunes sensory range. This should shave some time off this process."

"Thank Oum! So what?! We've saved 1999 years and 360 days?" asked Yang sarcasm thick, but wasted as much on this Jaune as their own.

"More like 500 years I would guess." said Jaune as Yangs shoulders slumped and she groaned at the floor.

"You were happy spending an extra 5 days in here?" asked Blake patting Yang on the back.

"Well this ain't so bad so far. Pretty cool stuff and we've only watched 2 universes."

_**Jaune stood at the end of the barracks. Already feeling isolated from his peers thanks to Colonel Ironwoods` plans for him.**_

"_**Oh look. It's the smart ass."**_

"Cardins` in this too!" shouted Ruby, clearly pissed that this Jaune already has the odds stacked against him.

"I hope Jaune Break His Legs!" shouted Nora.

"I don't know. These versions are already acting differently than the ones we know. I'm more worried about Jaune being isolated from the peer group." commented Ren, Nora just pouted wanting some leg breaking.

_**Everyone was looking at Jaune again just they did back in the shuttle, Jaune looked around for a free bunk, wanting nothing more than to escape their scrutiny. He spotted the last free bunk right near the door.**_

"_**Thanks. Thought I'd have to ask to be by the door." Jaune then just walked over to his now claimed bunk as everyone else began to go back to their own conversations. He activated his wardrobe panel to identify himself to the computer. The computer scanned his face and pupils.**_

"_**State your name."**_

"_**Ender Arc." the computer than immediately unlocked and opened to reveal its contents, a training suit, basic cloths and toiletries and what appeared to be some sort of weapon secured in a charging port. This caught Jaunes eye and he reached for it.**_

"_**Don't freeze your balls kid." commanded a powerful voice.**_

"Accent sounds a little like Velvet." commented Blake.

"Yeah. Where the hell is Velvet from anyway? Haven't heard anyone else speaking like her before." said Yang, Blake just shrugged. She couldn't really place the accent to anywhere she knew either.

"_**Attention on deck!" shouted one of the teens and they all fell into attention by their bunks.**_

"_**At ease..." the teens promptly went to parade rest in unison. Feet hitting the deck as one. "...Listen up Launhies. My name, is Sargent. James. Dap. Ask me a legitimate question and I will give you a direct answer..." Dap wasn't yelling but his voice filled the barracks with ease as he walked down the centre between the bunks. "...but if you're looking for a shoulder to cry on, use a pillow..." Dap had now reached the end of the barracks and was facing away from the teens. Most giggled at the last thing he said prompting him to turn around sharply. "...Do I look like I'm joking snots." yelled Dap properly this time.**_

_**All the cadets jumped to attention. "Sir No Sir." before going back to ease.**_

"_**Good. You are to work as a team. You will all make this bunk room your home. You will keep your home clean. There are separate showers for both sexes. If you are found on area not designated to your gender, I will personal neuter you. I'm. I. Clear." **_

"_**Sir Yes Sir."**_

_**Dap turned and looked directly at Jaune and he returned the gaze.**_

"_**Classes in 5. Follow the yellow lights. Yellow like your cowardly selves."**_

"_**Sir Yes Sir."**_

_**5 minutes later the cadets were sitting at their own single person tables in a tiered arrangement in front of a holographic screen with the Colonel addressing them.**_

"_**Welcome to Battle School. A great responsibility rests upon each of you. When the enemy first invaded, we were not ready. Millions of innocent lives were lost. That must never be allowed to happen again. We threw everything we had at the invaders, and in the midst of that decisive battle. A legendary hero emerged."**_

"I sound awesome in this. I might actually pay attention just to hear Ironwoody call me legendary again." said Qrow, Ruby and Yang snickered while Weiss humpft, Blake rolled her eyes. Oscar and Ozma just smirked, Ren and Nora were both fixated on the screen wanting to see what will happen to their fearless leader while Maria started laughing out loud.

"I'm so going to tell that to Cordovin. It'll make her head explode!"

_**The screen before the cadets now showed the battle between the Formic Invaders and the defenders of Earth. Fighter jets tore through the sky trying to dodge lightening being fired from the alien ships. Comms chatter was being played, and it quickly painted a dark picture. Everything was going critical, callsigns were going down every second. The fighters fought hard and valiantly by they were literally outnumbered thousands to one. For every fighter defending Earth there was a swarm of Formic. The image switched between external and cockpit cameras. They showed the Formic taking up as much of the sky as the clouds. The fighter we were following fired its guns and took down an alien only for that alien ship to crash into a wingman. The fighter pulled some high G turns to find cover in the clouds and the next time we saw it, the fighter was screaming towards the heavens. It was clipped by fire and started to spin but thankfully not fast enough to destroy the plane or kill the pilot. It continued to charge upwards and soon its target came into sight as the aliens gave chase and fired lightening all around the lone charging jet fighter. It was heading straight for one of the Formic carriers. The plane crashed into it and the vessel began to fall apart from an explosion from within. The screen then displayed the symbol of the International Fleet.**_

"Those were some good pilots there. Those planes looked to be flying at some serious speed too. Easily faster than anything I've even seen." commented Maria.

"Must have been a trick with the clouds or light or something. You can't get faster than around 450 miles per hours..." commented Weiss. "...No matter what you do to the air frame or gravity dust, or what you combine it with. You just can't push past it."

"Those planes can actually reach around 1050 miles per hour. It's an energy thing again Weiss. For all the benefits Dust has, it also comes with serious limitations when it comes to technology." said Jaune.

"Wait, how come we've never found any of these other energy sources. We pursue other sciences, not just Dust." said Ozma.

"Because you're not really looking for them. Dust is so easy to get and use compared to other forms of energy. You dig a hole, pick it up, and even in its raw form it can empower a person to do incredible things. Then tools came along and you immediately applied Dust to them and your technology progressed by adding Dust to everything. Those other universe without Dust had to find another way to progress. Usually they found fire, and built their technology from there."

"How much more powerful are these other forms of energy?" asked Blake.

"Usually there's parity till a civilisation reaches the digital age. This one we're watching is at the end of that age and are embarking on the Space Age. From then onwards the power difference keeps building and building."

_**Jaunes fellow cadets started cheering and clapping. Jaune looked more confused than anything. He felt that something was missing from what they were just shown. He just couldn't figure out what it could possibly be.**_

"_**We will never forget what the enemy did..." the cheering and clapping stopped quickly after the Colonel started talking again. "...but we defeated them, and we will do so again. Let the courage of `The Qrow` be your inspiration."**_

The holographic screen then disappeared in the cave.

"What!?" Come on! Giant Spaceships!" shouted Nora somehow climbing onto Rens shoulders and gesturing at the now empty space.

"How the hell an I suppose to use my awesomeness to score when I'm dead..!" shouted Qrow. "That's bullshit!"

"Well I guess you've had your fill of this one. Maybe the next one will have some spaceships for you Nora." said Jaune.

"Not my bag thanks. More of a fisticuffs kind of girl you know." said Yang.

"Same here. Prefer the more person forms of combat rather than armies or fleets engaging each other." said Blake.

"I'm actually with Nora on this one. Those vessels and that school in space were just absolutely amazing. We have the personal story since we're watching Jaune. I think a wider world view would be beneficial." commented Weiss.

"World view smerld view. I just want to see Jaune using those ships. After this battle school do you think they put him in command of one?" said Ruby, all excited bouncing up and down.

"They're going to give him a fleet! No ones going to waste Jaune on just a single ship." shouted Nora in complete confidence.

"Well he looks very young in this still, I imagine it'll take some time before his entrusted with something like that." said Ozma.

"Jaune, will this still work if I take notes. It won't suddenly be erased or anything when we get home." asked Weiss holding up her scroll.

"No. I won't tamper with your scroll. It's simply an external form of your memory to me. Although it'll run out of power in a day or so. I don't know if we'll head anywhere were you can recharge it."

"Wait. If we go to a universe like ours, can we plug them in? You know, in here." said Maria.

"Yeah. This space will reflect the universe we're visiting. Just like the computers you used earlier. If you can find a compatible plug socket and power source, your scrolls will charge."

"Cool." shouted Yang.

The cave then started glowing brighter and brighter and eventually flashed in blinding light as Blake scrambled to put Yangs sunglasses on.

(Crossover = Enders Game)


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello, Please note that there is a potentially unpleasant section at the beginning of this chapter concerning animals and them being shot. Take note.**

**Lost Arc**

**3**

"Hey Blake. How'd your eyes hold up this time?" asked Yang as she herself adjusted to the flash of light that transported them to another universe. As her vision cleared she saw Blake holding the glasses that Yang lent her in the previous universe, and starring at them in appreciation.

"These are some quality glasses Yang. I own you. My eyes aren't stinging this time round." answered Blake as she, Yang, and everyone else started to look around at the space that they now occupy.

They were in a much smaller space then they were before, and most definitely not a cave. The room was split by 2 levels with 3 cool blue holographic screens and control panels and a single central chair that Maria was already sitting in. One end of the room had large windows giving a good view of the outside, and the floor was decorated with the spear and circular shield symbol of Atlas.

"Well everyone. We appear to be on the bridge of an Atlas military airship, but that isn't what the most amazing thing is..." said Maria as she played around with the command chairs controls, bringing up the date and time on the large forward most holographic screen.

"We're 15 years in the Future." said Ren, his voice carrying shock to everyone listening. Everyone paused for a moment letting that sink in.

"Err. Can you look up any lottery numbers?" asked Yang.

"Yang!" shouted Weiss and Ruby.

"Ohh that's a good idea!"

"Nora!"

"Yes Ren." answered Nora sweetly, causing Ren to immediately cave.

"You're pretty." Nora immediately descends into a giggling mess and snuggles up to Ren.

"Do you think that'll work with anyone else to calm her down?" asks Blake.

"Doubtful." said Qrow, as he, Ozma and Oscar walked past the group of crazy teenagers and up to the large forward windows.

"So...We're like 34 now. Bet I'm still as sexy as hell." says Yang flicking her mane of blonde hair over her shoulder.

"I can't access anything from outside the ship. Just local sources. Sorry girl." said Maria as she tried to bring up information the same way she did in the previous universe. However, only finding data saved on the ship and nothing else.

"I may have an idea as to why." said Qrow as he walked back from the large forward windows, taking an unusually large drink from his flask.

Weiss had just plugged her scroll into a free data port to charge it when she,Yang, Ruby, Blake, Ren and Nora joined Ozma and Oscar at the large view port.

"Oh my Oum. No." whispered Weiss. No one else could even speak. Outside this lone airship, was the crashed remains of Atlas, and the crushed ruins of Mantle beneath it.

The mass was nothing but a still mound of dirt and metal, no fires, no smoke. Just broken homes, a kingdoms tombstone.

"I have the external cameras working." said Maria sombrely as she brought up images of the few remaining streets. All lifeless. The only movement being from wondering Grimm.

"This must have happened some years ago." said Ozma.

"The Grimm are moving around like they did when we first arrived in Mount Glen. Directionless." commented Ruby.

"There's no one down there. So I guess they are just waiting." said Oscar. Ozma gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"We need to get down there? Maybe we can learn how this..." started Blake only to be interrupted by Jaune.

"You can't. We're in my pocket dimension remember. What we are seeing, although accurate, is a representation of the best means for us to observe Jaune given his position and the universe we enter. We can see the devastation, but can't interact. Not from here. Take heart knowing that at least 1 Atlas airship is still in operation." said Jaune, he joined them at the window and looked out sombrely.

The main screen then clears the time and date and produces a clean clear image.

**Jaune had been waiting for hours. Standing braced against the tree he was in covered in his animal cloak with a hood and the tattered cloths he salvaged from the remains of the `Zion`, the Atlas airship wreck a day and a half fast walk from here. He was now covered in a layer of snow around his head and shoulders due to staying still so long, and it was going to get dark in under an hour. At which point he would have to give up this hunting trip and return to his camp. Crocea Mors was at his side on his hip. The shield sheath covered in dirt, purposefully in order to conceal any glint or glare that may give away his position to his prey, and a large combat knight was strapped to his lower leg.**

**A 200lb compound bow was inside his cloak at the moment with him, another gift from the downed airship.**

**A rustling sound reached Jaune and he calmly and silently drew the bow and slowly aimed in the direction he heard the sound. His muscular arms and chest became visible with Jaune in firing position and the cloak pushed away over his shoulders, but the hood still up.**

"Wow! We should get Jaune a bow..." said Yang. Ruby punched her in the arm. "...What?"

"I'll chip in." said Blake, almost purring. This older Jaune, although slightly smaller and less hairy, looked a little like her dad. Of course Blake was oblivious to that fact. She just saw a big strong hunter.

"Jaunes' fine the way he is." huft Ruby.

**After a minute of waiting a large deer walked out from behind a tree, digging at the snow and dirt to dig up the few pieces of remaining food. Jaune zeroed in and steadied his aim, waiting for the animal to get into the best position to fire.**

"Oh my Oum! He's going to kill that poor little dear." cried Ruby.

"I imagine he's not doing it for sport Ruby. You know Jaune would never kill anything unless he had too. He does his best not to hurt spiders when Nora sees one." said Ren.

"They have soooooo many legs..." whispered Nora. "...Its not right!" she then shouted.

**Jaune waited for over 5 minutes. The deer moving a little bit this way then that way, and then Jaune loosed his arrow. It tore into the deers' chest and then out the other side puncturing both lungs. The deer took off in a second as Jaune jumped off his tree and charged towards where the deer had been. He could run pretty fast now and covered the 100 odd meters in a few seconds but the deer was faster and Jaune knew better than to try and chase it. Its fright and panic would lend its limbs even greater speed. His bow went to the cradle at the small of his back that he modelled after Rubys' harness for Crescent Rose while his retrieved arrow went into the quiver he fashioned for himself that he worked into his cloak.**

**With his tools retrieved it became time to retrieve his food. Finding the blood trail he took off after his kill. **

**After around 2 minutes he found his prey. The animal was laying on its side bleeding out and thankfully all but dead. Jaune sighed, he had always been an animal lover and he hated having to do this but his survival demanded it. He knelt next to the deer and pulled his combat knife from his sheath and set about the grisly work of gutting and skinning the deer.**

"I can't watch that." shouted Ruby as she spun away and covered her ears, and she wasn't the only one with Nora and Weiss doing the same. Luckily for them the space they were in wanted them to watch and knew better than to show them scenes they would turn away from. The screen jumped several times before settling with Jaune nearly finished with his work.

**An hour had passed before Jaune stopped and collected the bundles of meat he'd made. Each piece packed into its own boiled cloth to try and keep everything as clean as possible. His Aura and Semblance were prof against nearly anything that entered his body but it was best never to take chances. A misstep out here and he'd die very quickly and very alone.**

**It was dark now and getting cold fast. It was time to leave and head back to camp. As he slung his gains over his shoulder he sensed another aura entering his range of detection. Just one. **

**With the fall of civilisation he knew better than to have them find him. **

**Always control the situation. Always have a plan of attack AND escape. First, find out if the target is a threat. Unfortunately the dark would make that difficult. He placed his sack back onto the ground and jumped silently back into the trees and once again set himself to waiting.**

"Wait a minute, his Semblance. This Jaune has it?" asked Weiss.

"Must be Aura Detection. I've never heard of a Semblance like that before. Not much use against the Grimm but excellent for security." said Ozma, impressed and intrigued at Jaunes unique ability. Semblances don't interact, or at least have never before now.

"Close, but not quiet Ozma. Watch, I imagine we'll get to see this Jaune in action." instructed Jaune.

**Jaune thankfully didn't have to wait long. A figure entered the area near the dead deer and kneed down after taking the time to carefully look all around, this person even looked in Jaunes' direction but only saw shadows. They opened one of the packages and then started to gather them all up. Jaune couldn't have that, time for introductions. **

**He brought his Aura fully to the fore and jumped from the tree. He knew from experience that his form at full power was an intimidating sight. He was tall, broad cloaked in shadows and his Aura radiated power that could be clearly seen by the naked eye. It looked like a border of solid white fire dancing around his form, but not giving away any of his features.**

"Wow. If I didn't know that was your loveable goofball. I'd be shitting kittens right now." said Maria. She'd faced some of the most powerful grimm on the planet thanks to her eyes, but other humans always proved difficult to best. On the screen right now she saw the alpha amongst men. Easily the most intimidating person she'd ever seen. From how he was standing, too the visible flow of his Aura around him, it just screamed power.

**The person in front of him gasped in a female voice and braced herself. Some sort of rifle appearing in her hands in an instant and aimed squarely at his chest. Jaune didn't flinch. Experience again told him that shots from a weapon of that calibre wouldn't put much of a dent in his fortified Aura. Hell, he had Atlas fall on him while he was fighting in the streets of Mantle holding the Grimm back while the innocents escaped. Took him almost a week to dig himself out of that. That was around 6 years ago.**

"**Please...I haven't eaten in nearly a week." begged the voice. At least she said something to him instead of just shooting. Hers is the first voice his heard in those 6 years. Everyone else just tries to kill him.**

"That voice sounds familiar?" said Nora, getting into a pondering pose with her head tilted upwards and to the side with her finger drumming on her cheek.

"I know what you mean. We've heard that voice before. The fear is making it hard to place." agreed Ren.

**Jaune took a step forward and began to raise his arms to lift his hood when she fired. Either through fear or exhaustion or hunger or cold. It no longer mattered. **

**The bullet hit his chest and his Aura flared, but Jaune was already moving, right towards his now target. His sword and shield appeared in an instant and as she got to her feet he shield bashed her into a tree 10 metres away. He kept up his charge and threw his sword ahead of him. The woman recovered very quickly and escaped out of the way of the sword just as it smashed into the tree and buried itself nearly up to the hilt. The swords point sticking out the back of the tree.**

"Ok. That's some crazy power right there but I can't believe he would be that stupid after what we've seen so far. He'll have to waste precious seconds pulling that sword free now if he wants to still use it." said Qrow. He'd been massively impressed with this Jaune so far, but to see him do something that reckless just cleared all those brownie points off the board.

**The woman took off quickly and put some distance between her and Jaune, but he pursed relentlessly. He passed the tree she hit and without missing a beat ripped his sword free. The whole tree braking in half where his sword was and collapsing behind him as he gave chase.**

Sigh. "Never mind." Brownie points restored.

**Jaune never let up. Whenever she turned to face him, he was already upon her. Every hit sent her flying into the air with the shear strength Jaune was able to put into each blow. He was surprised that her rifle/sword weapon hadn't broken yet. He noted that this woman seemed to coat her weapons and parts of her clothing with her Aura, similar to himself to increase Crocea Mors durability, she must be doing something similar. It was difficult to tell however in the near pitch darkness now. The only light coming from the broken moon and it's not making it through the trees very well.**

**She continued to run and he continued to give chase, she'd stopped trying to meet him head on now and was using her insane agility to stay out of Jaunes reach. This frustrated Jaune to no end. The slippery opponents always gave Jaune trouble. Speed wasn't his strong suit. He'd have to be patient. Wait for them to tire or make a mistake. He had to keep the pressure up though, he couldn't allow her to take the initiative or escape. Luckily he could keep this up for days. **

**His strength, stamina and endurance were were damn near god like.**

"Yeah! You go Fearless Leader! Show this crazy chick whose boss." shouted Nora throwing punches this way and that way, completely out of synch with what was going on on the screen. Ren however was perplexed. He knows the womans voice.

**Jaune felt something tug on his sword. It had no effect, he manipulated his Aura using his Semblance to coat his weapon and that threw off whatever was effecting it. He traced the effect back to this woman. She was trying to throw off his weapons, she must have immediately sensed that is wasn't working and ran again.**

**This woman was obviously a trained huntress. A dangerous opponent. Unable to compete with his strength she was obviously bidding her time as well, waiting for any weakness in order to strike or escape. **

**Jaune reached out with his senses and found her Aura, and pressed. Not literally, she was still several metres away, but with his own Semblance. Aura Manipulation seemed to have an endless supply of uses, and he now used it to turn the Semblance of this woman off.**

"Wait a fucking minute! Jaune can turn off our Semblances?!" shouted Yang, her mind going from how awesome this fight was to near panic at the thought of someone being able to tamper with a part of her soul. Everyone was shocked. That type of ability was a game changer. Ozma and Qrow were now taking a very serious interest in what was going on on screen now. The ability to suppress the Semblance of another. All of team Rwbys' fighting styles revolved around their respective Semblances. Hell, Ruby relies on it for pretty much everything, without it she's all but defenceless.

"Jaune...can our Jaune do that?" asked Nora, hesitantly. She loved Jaune like the brother she always wanted but this power scared her a little.

"Yep..." said Jaune like it was nothing. "...the Soul is the one and only constant throughout the multi-verse, and Semblances are a reflection of that. When your Jaune unlocks his Semblance, it will be what you see here."

_`An endless supply of uses?` _Thought Ozma to himself as everyones' attention went back to the screen.

**The woman stumbled. As if extra weight was suddenly added to her, just before she took off again. The trees were thinning and Jaune saw that she was now heading towards a clearing. It appears that she's given up trying to fight and was now working towards escape. If she got to that clearing he'd lose her, the trees in her way are the only reason he's kept up so far.**

**He collapsed his shield and threw it like a spear at her legs, just as she cleared the tree line it hit and sent her flying again. This surprised Jaune considering what he'd seen so far, she must have been really running on fumes. Her hood fell away from her head and Jaune saw vibrant red hair coming down to this womans shoulders. With no trees in the way the light from the broken moon allowed him to see her more clearly. He charged out of the trees and leaped towards her, his sword held pointing directly at her neck. **

**She turned her head and her pleading, fearful eyes looked directly at him. His sword stopped a centimetre before entering her neck. He knew these eyes, 15 or 16 years ago now was when he last laid his own upon them. **

**Vivid, Beautiful, Green.**

"He's been fighting Pyrrha!" shouted Nora.

"I wonder what separated them? Assuming they even know each other in this universe." commented Ren.

Ruby looked on anxiously gripping the hem of her combat skirt, with only Blake noticing her behaviour.

**Jaune relaxed his posture, then stood to his full height over his old partner. **

"**I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fire. It was an accident. I'm just so cold and hungry. I'm sorry." pleaded Pyrrha.**

_**`I'm sorry.`**_

**Those were the last words Pyrrha had said to him last time too. On that rooftop back at Beacon. Over 16 years ago. Right after he'd told her about his transcripts, and 10 minutes before she'd gone to Ozpin.**

**Jaune turned and walked away from her, picked up his sheath and headed back towards his kill.**

"**Please wait!" yelled Pyrrha as she stood and walked after him. **

"Well...that's definitely not our Pyrrha. She would never rat on Jaune. Hell! She didn't!" shouted Nora.

"Yeah. Although this Jaune seems a bit...cold compared to ours." said Yang thoughtfully.

"True. Ours would forgive Pyrrha at the drop of a hat, or anyone for that matter. He wouldn't just walk away." said Weiss.

"You have to remember that this Jaune is 15 years older than ours. We have no idea what's happened to him in the meantime. Apart from fighting in Mantle." threw in Ren.

**Pyrrha followed Jaune all the way back to his kill and continued to do so after he'd collected his food. She talked for a little while, asking him to say something, anything. She told him that she'd been by herself for over a week now. Apparently the convoy she'd been with was attacked by a huge force of Grimm and that she stayed behind to draw their attention while everyone else escaped. **

**Jaune just kept walking.**

**Eventually she stopped talking too and just followed behind him. **

"This is really not like Jaune. He wouldn't cold shoulder someone like this." said Ruby.

**An hour later and they were nearly at his camp. A large cave in a sheer rock face. He'd used numerous large boulders to conceal the entrance. It had taken nearly a year to get everything set up inside to help keep him alive. He was proud of his little wilderness home. It wasn't much, but it kept him alive, and it was all he had left.**

**He manoeuvred through the maze of rocks that hid the entrance and kept the light inside from spilling out and entered his home. He hung his gains outside the entrance since the outside was like a fridge, before proceeding inside. Pyrrha following.**

**Jaune removed his bow and quiver, placing them next to a small table he'd made before removing Crocea Mors and placing it on the table. **

**Jaune notices that Pyrrhas eyes lingered on the weapon for several seconds. **

**He grabs a piece of wood from a pile, and using his combat knife starts carving very fine strips of it off and allowing them to fall into a ring of fist sized stones.**

"**Will you not speak to me?" pleaded Pyrrha. Jaune paused and looked up at her from underneath his hood. He gestures to a pile of spare blankets, Pyrrha sighs in relief at getting any type of communication from this man before going to the pile and wrapping herself up in one. Jaune watched as she removed her cloak. **

**Her armour was essentially the same as what it was when he last saw her. Bronze metal and ash red leather. Obviously larger in scale now, she was definitely no longer the teenage girl he once knew. She was a woman now, and still one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen. **

"Oh Oum, please do not let there be one of his cheesy lines in this." said Weiss, looking up towards the deckhead as if preying.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that Weiss..." said Oscar thoughtfully. "...This Jaune hasn't made a single sound yet."

That comment caught nearly everyone off guard, and thinking back, he was right. This Jaune hadn't made so much as a peep. Team RWBY and Nora all looked at Ren.

"I did noticed. I'm surprised you guys didn't." said Ren in a nonchalant type of way.

"**Thank you." said Pyrrha as she turned around. She saw Jaune pour out a few small dried up droppings onto his wood shavings from an animal skin bag before making a triangle over both with sticks.**

"That's disgusting." said Weiss.

"That's really smart actually idiot." said Maria

"What did you say." demanded Weiss, actually stamping her foot a little when she turned around.

"You heard me girl. Shit is some of the best kindling you can get..." Maria turns her head to address Ozma accusingly. "...what the hell are you teaching these kids? How to make a fire was lesson 1 in my day."

"They only made it to the 2nd year in Beacon. Survival Training and Tactics starts in the 3rd."

"Eugh. I say we let Jaune deal with making fires." said Weiss.

"Seconded." said Yang.

**Jaune stood and grabbed a small red dust crystal from a pile he had in the cave and ran his knife along it generating a lot of sparks that promptly set fire to the structure he just made.**

**He then grabbed several small logs and set them down a couple of metres from the fire. Each one he picked up he examined, carefully removing any bark he found on it before adding it to his growing fire. **

**Jaunes head then shot upwards and the ground then shook slightly, and then again several seconds later with greater force.**

**Jaune sighed in announce.**

"**That sounds to regular to be a Goliath. Petra Gigas maybe?" said Pyrrha as she made to stand. Jaune stopped her, by holding up his hand in a halt motion before pointing at her and then the fire. He stood and grabbed Crocea Mors, pulling the Sword from its sheath and deploying the shield onto his arm. He heard Pyrrha gasp and turned to her. She was looking directly as his shield, undoubtedly at the twin Crescent Arcs, the symbol of his family. He turned back to the entrance and continued on.**

"**Jaune?" called out Pyrrha. He paused for a second, it has been so long since he heard anyone say his name. He then continued out of the cave.**

**The Geist wasn't far, and was easy to find. Hundreds of tonnes of rock and stone didn't exactly make for a stealthy creature. It was lumbering along when it saw Jaune standing before it. It paused for a second before charging. Its heavy foot steps shaking the earth beneath Jaunes' feet. Jaune brought out his Aura, he wasn't in the mood to train or toy with this thing today. The day had been long and meeting his old partner brought back painful memories. **

**Time to vent.**

**His Aura filled him, his sword and shield glowed as he imbued them with his soul. The creature struck with its massive boulder like right arm and Jaune smacked it aside with his shield, the force to crush buildings deflected with ease. He threw his sword at the joint and it tore clean through. The rocks falling lifeless, the creature staggered back and using the Aura he pumped into his sword Jaune guided it round in an arch and had it smash through the joint of its other arm. Jaune caught his sword again as the Grimms other arm fell to the ground. The creature was reeling and Jaune didn't waste the opportunity. He charged the Grimm and leap into the air heading straight towards his mask like face. He sheathed his sword in mid air and grabbed onto the mask with both hands and pulled the monster from its body and threw it to the ground as the Grimms body of rocks fell apart. Jaune leap again after the Grimm. **

**The Geist hit the ground and turned back just in time to see Jaunes sword pierce its face mask. The Grimm exploded into ash as Jaune landed. **

"Holy Crap!" said Qrow. Geist were tough bastards, and this version of that goofball owned the thing from start to finish.

"That was flipping amazing!" shouted Nora jumping up and down like a mad woman.

"Nora. I think that may actually be worth a curse word..." said Yang calmly before she threw both fists into the air. "...That was fucking awesome! This Jaunes unstoppable."

"Did you see what he did to his sword. He put his Aura into it and it became a sword boomerang!" shouted Ruby.

"He can somehow control anything he puts his Aura into. That's very impressive." said Blake.

"A little creepy too. When he helped me heal, do you think he could have controlled my body?" asked Weiss.

"Doubtful. He wasn't manipulating your Aura, he was gifting you his. Giving you more energy like he did to me on the train. I was still in complete control of all my abilities. Although the increase in power was a little overwhelming." said Ren.

**Jaune stood back up to his full height and sheathed his sword and collapsed his shield before turning back to the cave. He saw Pyrrha standing at the entrance. Milo and Akouo were in her hands, but hanging limp. A laugh actually escaped Jaune just then, no sound, just motion, but it felt good. He hadn't laughed in a long time, even a little one.**

**He walked back towards her, she moved to grant him access and he picked up 2 of the bundles of meat for his hanging stores and went back inside. Month still hanging open, Pyrrah followed.**

**She sat down again and just stared at him for several minutes, Jaune was nearly finished rigging his grill when she spoke again.**

"**Jaune...Is that really you?" **

**Jaune paused in what he was doing. He maybe as mad as hell with Pyrrha for betraying his trust in her, but that was 16 years ago. He could even understand why she did it, and being so cold to someone, anyone, just didn't sit right with him. He stood again and removed his cloak. His now very unkept blonde hair spilled onto his shoulders, the muscles in his back and arms moved, flexing as he folded his home made cloak and placed it next to Crocea Mors on his table. He half turned to her looking over his right shoulder and saw her beaming at him. **

**He had no idea he missed her smile so much. She was looking right into his eye.**

"**It is you..." breathed Pyrrha. "...I could never forget those eyes. No one has eyes like yours."**

**He finished his turn and saw Pyrrhas smile faultier just slightly. **

**Jaune stood before Pyrrha in all his glory now. Powerful muscles, attached to a broad and tall frame with darkening golden blonde hair down to his shoulders, piercing blue eyes that held unfathomable depth, and a scar enveloping the left hand side if his neck. Which somehow only added to him rather than diminished. **

"Now that's a slab of meat and a half..." drooled Yang. "...I do like the strong and silent type."

"He's silent because something ripped out his throat Yang! Get your head out of the gutter." argued Weiss.

"Whatever miss prissy pants. The rest of him looks to be working just fine. You missed your chance to get up and personal with potential...THAT!" said Yang as she pointed to the screen.

"Shut up Yang!" shouted Ruby.

"Whao, hold up there Ruby. You know I wouldn't hurt Jaune, I commit to the long haul. Brains, Heart, and now this on top. That's a winning combination right there." said Yang.

"SHUT UP..!" shouted Ruby again even louder. "...you can't have him! Jaunes' mine! You try and take him from me I'll jam Crescent Rose up your ass..!" Everyone was looking at Ruby now while she glared at her sister breathing hard, her body ready to fight. Then everything she just screamed filtered into her brain and she looked like a deer caught in headlights. "...errrrr."

Yangs teasing grin grew 3 sizes that day.

Everyone then turned again when they heard a thudding sound coming from the back of the bridge.

"I did not just hear my nieces fight over a boy. Ruby did not just swear. It wasn't real. It was a nightmare. My innocent little nieces were not just fighting over a SLAB of MEAT!" yelled Qrow as he rammed his head repeatedly into the bulkhead. Jaune walked up behind him and flicked him in the back of the head. Qrow collapsed unconscious.

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. These universes aren't going to watch themselves however." said Jaune as he gestured to the screen.

Everyone turned back and didn't notice a smirking Blake. `Called it.` she said to herself.

"**Oh Jaune. It's so good to see you..." said Pyrrha as she stood and walked up to Jaune. "...I really missed you. How did this happen?" asked Pyrrha as she reached for his neck. Jaune caught her wrist and walked away over to a small pile of supplies. He brought out a note pad and pencil. He scribbled something down and then handed it to Pyrrha.**

**`_About a year after you got me kicked out of Beacon. Claws of a Death Stalker caught me as it died.`_**

**Pyrrhas smile vanished completely, and her arms fell to her side. **

"**Jaune you were completely untrained. You would have died staying at Beacon. Hell you didn't even have your Aura unlocked." Pyrrha nearly shouted at Jaune. She wasn't lying when she said she missed him. He was the first true friend she ever had, it hurt her more than anything else she's ever been through to send him away. While Pyrrha was reading and then talking, Jaune had put the 2 pieces of meat onto his grill and began cooking them. **

**Jaune raised his hand and created several gestures and shapes with it while the other one cared for the food he was cooking.**

"**What is that?" asked Pyrrha, Jaune turned to her frowning and gestured for her to give him his note pad.**

**`_Mistralian Battle Sign. I thought you trained and was from there?`_**

"**I did and am. However I didn't take that course at Sanctum. I know Atlas Specialist Sign. Learned it a year or 2 ago now." said Pyrrha, smiling again slightly.**

**Jaune signed again, this time Pyrrha recognised it.**

"**_Ok. However, Mistral sign better. Fang best."_**

"Wow! How do I know that." said Nora, freaking out slightly.

"Subtitles." said Ren, pointing at the bottom of the screen.

"Oh."

"**You know 3 forms of Battle Sign..?" asked Pyrrha shocked. Jaune held up his fist and then opened his hand wide. "...5! I didn't know there were 5."**

**Jaune gestured again as he turned the meat over.**

"**_Mistral, Atlas, Vacuo, Vale, Fang."_**

"**That's amazing. Who trained you..?" Jaune just looked at her. "...Someone must have trained you Jaune. Where'd you learn to do everything you've done here? Who taught you to fight?" asked Pyrrha again.**

**Jaune just kept looking at her, and then signed.**

"_**Utensils." **_

"**What..?" asked Pyrrha, very confused. Jaune just signed again and then pointed towards a small sack sitting on a ledge. "...Oh."**

**Pyrrha stood and walked over to the sack which was filled with forks. She grabbed 2 and walked back to Jaune. He stabbed the pieces of meat and gave one to Pyrrha.**

"**Thanks." Jaune heaved a pot of water onto the fire before sitting down himself to eat.**

**They ate in silence for a few minutes, Pyrrha grateful for that. She was so hungry, and although she didn't say anything. She noted that Jaune gave her the larger piece.**

**Jaune clicked his fingers a few times after they'd finished to get Pyrrhas attention.**

"_**What has happened?"**_** Jaune asked.**

"**Since when? What do you already know?"**

"_**Nothing since fall of Atlas. Heard about fall of Beacon, Havens Betrayal, Amity Calamity.**_

_**Fought during Mistral Marches, Vacuo Vacuum, Managerie Siege."**_

"**Wow really. Those were some of the most intense battles so far. Mistral and Vacuo lasted around a year and the Siege lasted 4..." Jaune just nodded. "...Well, after Atlas' fall things have been getting progressively worse. The 3 campaigns you fought in have been pretty much the only victories we've had, Atlas is hailed as a victory. However only because of the number of civilians that managed to escape. Nothing short of a miracle given the Grimm Horde..." Jaune just nodded again. "...Anima and Sanus have been abandoned. There's just too many Grimm and...not enough people. Managerie and Solitas are being Fortified. According to the plan Managerie is too distant to make for an effective target for the Grimm and Solitas is naturally resistant to the Grimm. They move noticeably slower here. Apparently someone threw these plans in Ironwoods face about 7 years ago, he thought it wasn't time to retreat back then." Jaune interrupted her. **

"_**But think good idea to wait 7 years, waste Oum knows how many lives that now can't help. Idiot." **_**finished Jaune clearly frustrated.**

"**I felt the same when I heard." said Pyrrha smiling sadly at Jaune.**

**The water then began to boil, Jaune placed a very fine looking grill mesh above the pot and angled it down towards a tube that feed into a jug. He then placed a second and then a third grill that all lead towards the jug.**

"_**Status, RWBY, NORA, REN?"**_** signed Jaune, signing each letter. Pyrrha pulled her legs up against her chest and suddenly looked very small to Jaune, like she was an uncertain teenager again.**

"**Well, might as well go in order..." said Pyrrha, forcing a smile that quickly vanished as unpleasant memories came to the fore of her mind. "...Blake disappeared after the fall of Beacon. No one has seen her since?" Pyrrhas statement turned into a question as Jaune started waving his hands and shaking his head smiling.**

"_**BLAKE fine. Leads Fang. Surprised you not know? She and wife good leaders. Although was 8 years past."**_

"I lead the White Fang?!" yelled Blake.

"No..." said Jaune, causing everyone to turn. "...the White Fang disbanded after Havens Betrayal. The White Fang became the Military Branch of Manageries Government under your parents. The Managerie Council."

"Wait wait wait wait...your wife..?" said Yang. "...I didn't know you were a lesbian?"

"I didn't know either."

"You might not be. That's another universe remember." said Weiss.

"Who's her wife?" asked Yang.

"Ilia, I believe."

"The Chameleon?!" yelled Yang.

"You alright there Yang? You're sounding a little Jeeeaalllous." sang Ruby, appearing around Yangs shoulder.

"You're a lesbian..?" asked Nora, appearing on Yangs other shoulder. "...that's so cool. We can talk about Ren and I won't have to brake your legs."

"No I'm not a lesbian. I'm Bi, haven't decided to commit one way or the other yet."

"What...?!" said Qrow as he slowly got to his feet from the deck. "...just knock me the fuck out again."

"No. You're suppose to be watching this Qrow. As should the rest of you. Talk about your sexual habits later." said Jaune sternly.

"Like hell they will." muttered Qrow as he stood next to Ozma.

"**What...Blakes' alive?" **

"_**Doing well also."**_

"**I've never been to Managerie, and I wasn't included in any of the Defence Talks. This is great. Yang will be thrilled." shouted Pyrrha, her smile back in full force and making Jaune follow suit. **

"_**YANG alive?"**_

"**Yes, and Ruby. They are still fighting too, last I heard they were both ordered to Managerie. Guess they would know Blakes' alive then by now..." Pyrrhas smile then faded away again. Jaune readied himself, he had a feeling that the rest of the news about his old friends wasn't as good. Jaune noted that Pyrrha was shaking slightly now. "Weiss died during Havens Betrayal. She was stabbed and bled out before we could get medical attention to her."**

"Jaune wasn't there to save me in this universe..." said Weiss to herself just before Ruby Yang and Blake crushed her in a huge hug. "...Oum, You too Blake?"

"You're my friend too. I don't want to lose you..." said Blake, a tear running down her cheek as she hugged harder. "...I don't hug often so enjoy it while it lasts."

Weiss did, and hugged them all back.

"**Ren and Nora..." Pyrrha almost gagged as grief took her over for a second, tears started to stream down her face. "...They both died defending the last evacuation train out of Mistral. About a week after Weiss past."**

"Without Jaune, I wouldn't have been able to shield the train. We would have had to make a stand..." said Ren stoically. Nora hugged Ren so tight he thought his arms were going to snap off. Then Team RWBY dog piled them. "...You too Weiss." said Ren smirking.

"Oh shut up." yelled Weiss hugging harder.

"Youth today." said Ozma smiling, happy to bear witness to such a tender loving moment.

**Pyrrha had buried her head in her arms and her tears streamed down her face while she sobbed quietly. **

"**I did everything I could to save them. I fought so hard, my only real contributions so far has been as a poster girl for the military. Encouraging people to join the fight. This convey mission is the first combat operation I've been on in 4 years, and this is how it turns out."**

**Pyrrha suddenly felt something warm envelope her and she immediately felt safer, better. She looked up into Jaunes face and his expressive eyes beamed kindness down into her.**

"_**No one can give more than best. You always give best."**_

"**How can you forgive me for what I did..." said Pyrrha, not wanting to avoid this any longer. "...You were the first friend I ever had and I turned you in as soon as I learned a rule had been broken."**

"_**Not stupid. Would die at Beacon. Angry hurt at first, however forgave long ago."**_

"**You can't know that. Everyone could be alive if you still lead JNPR."**

"_**Or, all died. Sleep now. Late."**_** Pyrrha rested her head on Jaunes broad and warm chest for a moment before looking up into his eyes again.**

"**How do you want to split the watch?"**

"_**Not necessary. I will wake if anything come nears. Trust your partner." **_**Pyrrha then leaped up and grabbed onto his neck hugging him for all she was worth. **

"**Thank you. It's so good to have you back." cried Pyrrha into his shoulder.**

**Jaune laid her down and covered her with a blanket.**

**The jug was almost full, so he removed his mesh water catchers and put his combat knife his used arrow and their utensils into the boiling water. Pumping his Aura into his hands he scrubbed them clean before putting everything away. It really stung but his Aura protected him from damage. He put the pot back outside to collect more falling snow or rain and then went to sleep himself. His senses constantly alert to everything going on around him even when he fell into unconsciousness. **

**Jaune woke again roughly an hour later with an annoyed sigh. He looked over and saw Pyrrha shivering like a leaf caught in a gale. She noticed him stir.**

"**I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake YYOOOOUUUU..!" started Pyrrha as Jaune bodily picked her up by the waist and put her against his side. She sat up immediately with her hand resting on his chest. "...Oh my. You're so hot..." said Pyrrha and even in the dim light given off by the dying fire she could see him smirk and his eye brows arc upwards. Pyrrha rolled her eyes. "...you know what I mean."**

"_**You cold. I have heat to spare. Go sleep."**_

**Pyrrha lowered her head to Jaunes shoulder as his arm snaked round her, she wiggled closer to his side. Pyrrha fell asleep again in a minute with Jaunes' big powerful heart lulling her to sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this safe, and so warm. **

"AAAHHHHHHH..." chorused Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang and Nora as the holographic screen turned off. Ren looked around confused, being in the middle of the gaggle of girls. He looked to Ozma, Oscar and Qrow for some sort of manly connection and only got Oscar who shrugged back at him. Ozma and Qrow apparently having something important to discuss.

"That's so sweet. Is our Jaune really that big of a softy?" asked Blake.

"Oh yeah. That's our Fearless Leader alright. Be on his way to war and then he'll stop everything to rescue a cat from a tree. Bestest Leader, alongside Ruby." said Nora, all enthusiasm and loudness.

"Is his body really that warm though. That Pyrrha seemed surprised by it?" asked Weiss.

"Why don't we ask Ruby?" asked Nora with a massive grin.

"Me again! Can't we tease Yang a bit more first?"

"Nope! This is super serious. We have to have strategies against Jaune." shouted Nora.

"What's that now?" asked Jaune as his head appeared in the circle of young women.

"Not you dummy. Our Jaune. He can be as dense as week old Goliath dung baked in a desert. We need to get Ruby through that dung to claim her man!" shouted Nora.

"Find better words." begged Ruby as she buried her head in her hands.

"What was that?!" shouted Qrow as he spun away from Ozma, a look like panic in his eyes. Yang hopped over, gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and then spun him back round again to face Ozma. It was all Qrow could do not to punch the guy when he started snickering.

"You seem awfully eager about this?" asked Weiss to Nora when Yang hopped back.

"Well Obviously! Jaune and Ruby will make each other happy, that will mean they are happy, better leaders. Which will lead to double dates!" shouted Nora clapping her hands and bouncing up and down.

"OHHHHHHH." said Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Blake in understanding.

"Hmm. Glasses Blake." said Jaune. Which sent Blake scrabbling into her pocket for Yangs glasses as the room started to glow and then disappear in a flash of light.

(Crossover = None, just RWBY)


	4. Chapter 4

**Lost Arc**

**4**

"What the fuck!" shouted Qrow just before everyone heard a large splash. As their eyes adjusted everyone found themselves in a rather small apartment. Maria was sat down in front of a small table with some sort of small computer on it, Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Blake ( who was putting the sunglasses onto of her head) and Nora were in the same small room as Maria. It appears to be a small living room with a TV dominating one corner with a weird little pink pig sharing the TV stand, and right next to that was a glass sliding door that went out to a small balcony, with a single spiky planet and a small green elephant shaped watering can. Back inside the room was a small shelving unit with comics on, Ruby immediately charged straight at it and starting looking through the titles, as Weiss and Blake sat down on some cushions all over the floor. Behind all of them was a small galley hatch with a perplexed looking Ren, Oscar and Ozma standing in a small kitchen, and stomping down the small hallway brushing past Jaune was a sopping wet Qrow.

"I found the bathroom if anyone needs it." said Qrow trying to ring water out his hair and cloths.

"What happened?" asked Jaune, genuinely confused.

"I appeared inside a full bath tube, complete with rubber duck. Who the hell would have a place like this and have a rubber duck." yelled Qrow, clearly frustrated and annoyed to no end.

"A lonely teenager I would guess, going on the comics on display. Haven't found any I recognise. Yang, do your tits do this when you fight?" asked Ruby holding up a comic for her to look at.

It had a bikini wearing warrior women wielding a sword 5 times her height with breasts the size of her head being pushed together by string and appearing to bounce every which way regardless of how the rest of her body was moving, and surrounded by disembowelled and beheaded giant monsters with blood flying everywhere. Yang grabbed the comic, grabbed the shelves and threw both out the glass door and off the balcony.

"No. Just no." said Yang.

"Do you think this is where Jaune lives in this universe?" asked Ren as he exited the kitchen and made his way to stand by Nora.

"If it is he's a giant lonely perv!" shouted Yang.

"Nah! Don't be silly. This doesn't have the Jaune vib. It's someone elses' for sure." said Nora confidently.

"Well it definitely has the loser vib. Hate this place already and I've only been here 30 seconds." said Qrow as he stomped to a corner and leaned against the wall, dripping everywhere.

Jaune took pity on the unlucky man and snapped his fingers drying Qrow off instantly. Qrow jumped surprised for a moment before he looked over at Jaune and nodded. Man talk for thanks.

Just then the TV came to life in a burst of static. Prompting everyone to gather round the device either sitting on cushions, the rolled up duvet or just standing.

**A siren was sounding throughout a mostly evacuated city with swarms of insects flying around on the hunt. A disembodied voice was broadcasting warnings over a Public Address System.**

"**This is an emergency evacuation warning. Threat Level, Demon. No resident is to go outside under any circumstances. Please remain indoors. I repeat. No City Z resident is to go outside."**

**As the broadcast was playing a shadow fell upon a dried up husk of a bird that appeared dead for weeks. Following the shadow was Jaune. Wear cowboy boots, blue jeans and a white top. His robotic arms on full display advertising his cyborg status to anyone looking. His messy blonde hair blowing in the wind from where he was standing on top of a building watching the swarm with his calculating blue eyes.**

"**Acquiring Target." Jaune said in an unusual tone lacking some feeling, he was speaking to himself as he continued the pursuit he began back in the country side.**

"OH MY OUM! Jaunes' a cyborg! That's so awesome!" shouted Ruby bouncing up and down on her cushion.

"I wonder what superpowers being a cyborg gives him! I bet he spins really fast holding his arms out and flies!" shouted Nora, jumping up and her arms immediately going to full stretch. Thankfully Ren grabs her and she sits on his lap before she starts spinning in the small apartment.

"Well, Ironwoods more durable and has enhanced strength from his cybernetics. So I imagine at least something similar." said Ozma, standing at the back of the room with Qrow and Oscar.

**Jaune was walking down a street following the swarm. He came upon them swirling around a figure flying in the sky about 20 metres up. As the swarm dispersed the figure was revealed to be a humanoid female insect. She appeared naked, covered in very fine black and white fur, a large Abdomen sticking out of her bum, multi-jointed limbs and insect wings. She also appeared to have an insects head on top of her own more human one. If Jaune didn't know better, he would have sworn that she appeared to be talking to the swarm.**

**Jaune raised his arm and primed his combat systems.**

" **Target has been acquired." said Jaune as he fired his incinerator cannon to get the creatures attention.**

"His arm has a flame cannon built into it! That's so cool!" squealed Ruby going into full on weapon nut mode at the possibilities and starting to drool.

"Prefer hunk Jaune myself. Would you really prefer a cold metal Jaune to a hot red blooded one?" asked Yang grinning like a cat before she turned to Ruby. She immediately frowned when she saw Ruby not pay her any attention and instead start jotting down notes for flame cannon attachments for Crescent Rose using her scroll. She's immune to teasing when she's in nerd mode.

**The Flames rushed out of Jaunes hand speeding towards his target. The female insect spun in place to face him dissipating the flames.**

"**I see. You make the Mosquitoes suck the blood, and then take it all for yourself. You must be controlling each one using some sort of signal. That would explain their mysterious behaviour. So if I were to get rid of you, their leader, would the swarm disperse as well."**

"**Ha ha our next meal is here..." started the woman in a surprisingly sultry voice. "...Go drain that fool dry."**

**The swarm rushed forward towards Jaune surrounding him in a huge shifting mass of insects as they tried to find purchase on his metallic frame.**

"**Incinerate." said Jaune from the swarms depths. Flames burst out from the swarm and roasted each little insect to a crisp, revealing Jaune standing amongst the flames. The pilot light in his outstretched palm burning brightly.**

"**I will eliminate you. Stay right where you are." said Jaune.**

"Did we ever talk to the criminals this much?" asked Blake, wondering why this Jaune took the time to tell his target his theories on her own powers.

"You did..." said Weiss. "...think I heard that you did a whole impassioned speech at the docks." Blakes ears went a little flat.

"Maybe it's a left over White Fang thing..." offered up Yang. "...they do like to justify themselves." Yangs robotic hand started shaking slightly in a fist, only Blake noticed and laid hers onto of Yangs. The shaking stilled and she opened her hand to take Blakes to hold.

**The fight began in earnest with Jaune charging up the side of a building and leaping high into the air to get at his aerial target leaving dents in the concrete. They both traded furious, impossible blows with metal fists hitting hard insect claws and causing a loud clang with each blow. Being at the mercy of gravity Jaune was forced away to another build and he used his incinerator cannons to launch himself back into the fight smashing part of his building launch platform that use to be a balcony. They traded another hit with the insect womans longer reach allowing her to strike him down towards the concrete road. Jaune used his incinerator cannons again to slow his decent and spun with his arms outstretched to help control his return to the ground.**

Nora still sitting on Rens lap just looked at him with an `I told you so` face. Ren just smiled and booped her on the nose rolling his eyes, earning him a pretty little pout from her.

**Jaune turned to his opponent again with his arm raised and made ready to fire.**

"**Incinerate." said Jaune and flames again sped towards his target.**

**She dodged them, catching Jaune by surprise for a second before he kept fire. Fire spread from his outstretched hand over and over again and she kept dodging, getting closer and closer. Eventually she collided with him and the horn on her head impaled his arm and ripped it off him. The female giggled to herself.**

"**Maybe a leg next time..." said the woman while Jaune appraised the remains of his sparking left arm. Thinking herself safe from the cyborg the lady insect lost focus for a second and that was all Jaune needed. In that second he ripped her own legs from her body as she continued to fly in the air. "...What the?! What happened to my legs?" she asked as Jaune casually tossed them behind him as he glared mutely up at his target. The insect woman made an escape, flying away from Jaune.**

"**Futile..." said Jaune as he charged his cannon again and fired at the retreating insect woman. Unfortunately her swarm shielded her and all Jaune did was roast another few million insects. "...you can not escape from me."**

"Oh. That's pretty bad ass." said Nora wiggling around on Ren lap. Unknowingly doing things both good and bad to Ren that he tried to keep concealed while not calling attention to Nora.

"Yep. Robo Jaunes' growing on me a bit now. Definitely a bad ass. I approve." said Yang smugly.

"Oh I'm sure he'll be so thrilled to hear that Yang." said Weiss.

"You saying you don't? He appears to be a man of justice in this universe." said Blake.

"That's all well and good and if that was what Yang was talking about I'd agree. However she's just setting Ruby up for more teasing." said Weiss, looking over at her young leader as Yang put her arm around her and started gesturing at the screen making Ruby turn red.

**Jaune ran after the insect woman and found her surrounded by her swarm of insects in a huge shifting mass of bugs.**

"_**So many. If she has been collecting blood from the whole town as well as the surrounding area. Then it maybe more than a simple food source for her..." **_**Jaune primed his hand cannon and made ready to fire. **_**"...I should put and end to this as soon as I can."**_

"**Get back here damn it..!" shouted someone behind Jaune making him jump slightly in surprise that he didn't detect them. He turned to face this potential new threat. "...You and I aren't done yet you little bastard!" Yelled the strange man chasing after a single mosquito wielding a can of bug spray.**

"_**Who is this idiot?"**_

"Oh my Oum." said Ozma out loud while everyone else slowly turned to look directly at the man this guy on the TV resembled, minus hair. Qrow was standing gobsmacked not knowing what to think as he saw himself chasing after a mosquito with a can of bug spray and apparently really pissed off with it.

Snicker.

Cough (concealing smile)

hee hee

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my Oum Uncle Qrow! That's you..!" shouted Yang as she pointed at the screen. Laughing so hard that Qrow was more worried that she'll hyperventilate than annoyed. "...Oh my Oum! HAAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH my sides hurt." Only a little bit worried now.

"Oh shut the hell up. You know that's not me. It's another universe remember." shouted Qrow as Weiss and Nora joined in the laughing while Blake continued to snicker.

"**It's in my mouth…" started the strange fellow as he started spitting to try and getting rid of the insect. "…nasty little…huu..?" finished the weirdo as he looked up a began to realise what was going on around him. "…what's that swirling? Are those…mosquitoes?" He asked in apprehension.**

"**You there…" said Jaune getting the guys attention. "…That Swarm is conscious, and if it senses you it will attack."**

"**Seriously…" said the guy with a near deadpan expression. "…That's bad news we should get…" **

**The guy never finished his sentence as the female started laughing manically to herself.**

"…**Oh." Finished the guy as the swarm descended. **

**The swarm smashed into the Jaune and the strange guy physically shacking the ground with their sheer mass of numbers, smashing in windows to swarm inside buildings and even toppling some buildings.**

**Jaune once again primed in incinerator cannon built into his arm and let out a massive fire ball in all directions. Fire spread in all directions for several blocks, sweeping away the insect menace in one powerful earth shacking blast. As the fire died away, Jaune was left standing amongst the incinerated remains of millions of mosquitoes.**

"Did he just burn me alive?" asked Qrow, feeling like it should be something he asks rather than actually caring about this idiot version of himself.

"**Since she could speak, I thought she would have at least human level intelligence, but in the end, she was just a bug. Bringing the mosquitoes together made for one easy to burn swarm…" The screen pulled away from Jaune to show the devastation he had wrought to the surrounding city distract. "…When I first spotted her, I confirmed that there were no living beings in 500 meters in all directions. So this location allowed me to fire at will…" Jaunes' expression than morphed to concern as he realised that that hadn't been the case. "…Wait a second, that guy might…"**

"**Man. You saved me. You're pretty amazing aren't cha. You could say you total made the bugs, bug out of here… Buhdumpst."**

"AHHHH! My eyes! I'm scared for life!" Yelled Yang dramatically as she threw her arms over her head at the sight of her naked uncle on screen with his cloths apparently being burned completely off with only thin streams of smoke to protect his dignity.

"AHHHH! My ears! Yang jokes! Make it stop Renny! Make it stop!" cried Nora shacking Ren before crying into his shirt.  
"Hey..!" shouted Yang turning on Nora. "…My Jokes are awesome examples of humanities comedic brilliance. Not to mention I don't go Buhdumpst…" this conversation somehow being really important to Yang as she gestured at Nora and her other friends with accusing glares. "…none of you would recognise a good joke if it came and bit you on the ass." grumbled Yang as she finished her little one-sided argument, now sitting again, arms crossed across her ample chest and pouting.

**Jaune turned and just stood and stared in shock. Not at the weirdos nakedness, being mostly robotic Jaune no longer cared about that type of thing, but at the fact that this man was somehow still alive. **

"**Oh. See, that was a joke about the mosquitoes being bugs." Said the strange man, his expression now a little disappointed now that he had to explain his joke. The smoke defending his decency also gave out but was replaced by a strategically well felled street sign.**

**Manic female laughter brought both their attentions back to the flying female insect. Her appearance had changed. Her fine fur covering her naked body was now more red, undoubtedly tinged by the huge amount of blood she's absorbed. Her legs had regrown, she had a large mane of pink hair waving around her head and she appeared slightly larger with additional spikes and blades sticking out from her person.**

"**You idiot! I no longer need my tiny little helpers. I mean…" she then drew her arm around and smashed a random building near her into rubble with apparently little effort. "…Just look at how strong I've become!" shouted the female insect. Manic giggles escaping her as she dived at Jaune. More than ready to end this little game she's been enjoying.**

**She appeared behind Jaune in a flash and her bladed hand cut into his back removing a huge chunk of his robotic body. Shock plastered all-over his face.**

"Oh no Jaune!" shouted Ruby, jumping closer to the screen and only not colliding with it thanks to Weiss grabbing her. More to hide the tiny pang of jealously she unexpectedly felt against Ruby rather than stop her partner try to throttle the TV for showing Jaune now losing.

**Jaune turned to face her and was about to launch a fist at her face when he was launched upwards by her tremendous speed and strength. She chased him up into the sky and proceeded to pick him apart with great pleasure. Female laughter echoing all around.**

"**Can't your macho punches kill a little mosquito. HAHAHAHAHA…" Her laughter surround Jaune as his body became more and more damaged. Parts hacked away, systems failed, one of his eyes removed. The damage kept pilling up and he couldn't do anything to stop it. "…What a weakling."**

"_**I get it now. The more blood she is able to consume the more powerful she becomes."**_

**Jaune started to fall as gravity once again took hold of him, the female insect hovering lazily nearby as she pondered what to do next.**

"**I think I'll have your head next!" she shouted as she again dived at the now nearly defenceless Jaune. **

"_**I let my guard down. I have no chance at winning…" **_**Jaunes chest started glowing brighter and brighter as he diverted energy to it. **_**"…All I can do, is self-destruct. Forgive me, Doctor."**_** Thought Jaune to himself as the insect criminal got closer and closer.**

All of team RWBY and Nora, Ren and Oscar were riveted to their seats. They weren't really about to see Jaune blow himself up were they? The bad guy wasn't about to win was she. She's the Bad guy.

Qrow, Maria and Ozma were just as invested as their young charges in Jaune, but watching another version of him on a TV screen leant them some detachment.

**Then she was bitch slap in the face, went careening into a building and promptly turned into paste. The shockwave from the force of the slap sent debris and dust everywhere and Jaune could only look on in complete shock and amazement as his disabled body continued to fall to the ground.**

"**Bugs. They suck." said the weirdo with a tiny smirk on his face, indifferent to the feat he just accomplished. **

"Ha. Man that was a little tense there." said Yang as she leaned back and let out a sigh of relief along with everyone else in the room.

"That was a little close. Does this mean that Mr Branwen is stronger than Jaune in this universe?" asked Blake.

"Well obviously..!" shouted Qrow, warming up to his alternate a little now. "…He KO'd that bitch in one slap! Boom! Right to the face."

**The strange man then started to walk away.**

"**Wait a minute…" said Jaune, clearly taking effort to speak. The stranger looked over his shoulder at Jaune. "…Please, tell me your name?"**

"**Oh. It's Qrow." answered the stranger now called Qrow.**

"**I would like to be your disciple." asked Jaune.**

"**Um, sure…" said Qrow before he again began to walk off, then turning back again. "…err, hold on. What?" asked Qrow, looking down at a very determined looking Jaune.**

The TV then switched off.

"Well. Looks like this version of you is also a teacher my friend, or at least soon will be." Said Ozma.

"You know what. I think this is your place..." said Nora, pointing at Qrow. "…Yep, definitely a Qrow vib going on now that I think about it."

"Like hell this dump is mine..!" shouted back Qrow. "…we do not give off a loser vib. This place must be the goofballs."

"I think Noras' onto something. This doesn't strike me as a Jaune place." said Blake.

"Agreed, if it were than his chance courting me were even lower than even I thought." said Weiss.

"But what makes you think…"

Jaune tuned out Ruby and the girls talking about who they thought owned this place to listen in on Ozma and Qrow going back to what they were discussing before in the previous universe.

"It's still a bad idea. You can't force these things. I've tried more times than I can count." said Ozma in a low voice to Qrow.

"You saw what he could do though. That powerhouse of a body with the goofball at the controls, my nieces would be safe against whatever they came across. We can't kill her, but you heard what Jaune said. Jaune and Ruby are the keys to beating her." argued Qrow his voice just as low so as not to earn the attention of the teenage girls, and Ren.

"It won't work…" piped up Maria as she hobbled over. "…Auras you can awaken. But Semblances, I don't know if it's fate or destiny that decides, but they won't be forced to awaken."

"We also need Jaune committed to this. That's what Jaune said. We force anything onto him and he'll be pushed further away." said Oscar standing next to Ozma, Ozmas hand resting on the young teens shoulder in support.

"Jaune will definitely need more attention when we get back. Intensify his training and studies. His still behind all the others. Hopefully we'll see more of that Jaunes universe. Maybe learn who trained him and seek them out."

"You're right there. He's made huge progress, but his still the weakest combatant. Excellent at holding ground but huntsmen need to do more than that. Then there's you as well." said Qrow gesturing to Oscar.

"I've been thinking about that too…" said Ozma as he turned to Oscar. "…If you're willing and wish to remain with us, I would take you as my apprentice. You've already proven that you are strong and intelligent, and I've haven't taught my skills to another for a very long time. You would become my successor. What do you say?" asked Ozma.

"I'd be honoured!" Oscar almost shouted. The fear he felt at not belonging with this group now gone that he'd been offered a place in it again, not as a vessel for Ozma but as an individual with now a bright if dangerous future. Ozma smiled and squeezed Oscars shoulder slightly.

"Ok everyone. We're off again." shouted Jaune as the room began to brighten with Blake tapping the shades back into place.

(Crossover = One Punch Man)


	5. Chapter 5

**Lost Arc**

**5**

As the light disappeared and vision once again returned to Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora, Ren, Maria, Qrow, Oscar and Ozma, it was all anyone could do to not gap in awe at the massive circular cathedral like structure they found themselves in. Huge columns of polished stone leading to a massive vaulted roof with painted murals depicting heroic figures wielding swords and guns and wearing massive and think armour, huge engines of war and even what appeared to be a ship in space. Although the painting showed a much more beautifully craft vessel adorned with art work and decoration rather than the utilitarian ships used in the universe 3 universes back.

The group themselves were standing on a large raised platform surround by a think black railing decorated in golden script with small gargoyles holding thunderbolts perched on top looking out at the massive lower level, which was filled with ornamented alcoves, each with its own primitive looking computer made out of large brass keys and marble roller balls.

With them on the platform was a table taking up most of the space shaped like a pentagon with more brass controls on every side, and at the back of the massive chamber on its own little podium was a large plush throne, fashioned with even more brass controls.

Braziers were burning along every wall and gave the dark coloured space an earthy, sombre feel.

"This is the oddest church I've ever seen. I refer to when religion was still an actually thing back home too." muttered Ozma looking around, noting that Jaunes expression was a little grimmer here than in any other universe so for.

"This place is so cool!" shouted Nora as she hugged one of the gargoyle statures and poked the thunderbolt.

"It's definitely more characterful than anywhere else we've seen so far." said Ren, following Nora around and away from the gargoyle as she moved to and tried to climb one of the sheer, and smooth marble columns.

Just them Jaune rushed towards Maria and gently stopped her from sitting in the massive plush throne, catching the attention of everyone.

"You can't use that chair I'm afraid. It'll stab you in the neck trying to interface with you."

Maria looked back at the chair and saw a spike retreat into the fabric of the throne.

"Sounds a bit personal. What is that thing?" she demanded, her mechanical eyes narrowing to scrutinise where the spike disappeared as everyone get closer.

"It's a Mind Impulse Unit. It allows a direct interface between this ships Master and the vessel itself."

"Wait, we're not in a weird church?" asked Ruby.

"OH MY OUM WE'RE IN SPACE..!" shouted Nora jumping up and down with glee. "…We're on something like that aren't we?!" Nora now pointing up at the painting of the space ship above their heads, despite everyone already having seen it they all look again at the picture before turning back to Jaune.

"Something like that yes. That…" said Jaune pointing at the huge picture of the giant ship. "…Looks like a Mars Class Battlecruiser. You can make out the Nova Cannon under the prow and the Dorsal Lance Batteries…" Jaune walked over to the table and started adjusting the controls while muttering to himself until a green, slightly flickering image of a smaller vessel appeared which appeared to share the same design philosophy. "…We're on this. A Dauntless Class Light Cruiser refit, `Clamore Faces Ligavit in Valkyrie`."

"That name sounds awesome! Has Valkyrie in it!" shouted Nora again.

"Does that name mean anything. Sounds like gibberish." said Qrow earning a stuck out tongue from Nora.

"Well, according to Google it means `Prosecuting Torch of the Valkyrie`." answered Jaune.

"Google?" asked Weiss.

Jaune just smirked and shook his head.

"Never mind."

The image of the ship then disappeared, and everyone got as comfy as they could leaning against the railings since the only chair wanted to stab people in the neck.

**The screen flashed into life showing fleets of vessels above a world covered with explosions as the fleets did battle. Prominently in the foreground was an Imperial warship breaking apart as it exploded amidships with its killer powering on past.**

"**From the lighting of the Tempest. Our Emperor, deliver us…"**

**The next image to appear showed fleets of different vessels powering through the void. Alien, human, traitor, other.**

"…**From plague, Temptation and War. Our Emperor, deliver us…"**

**Next was shown fleets again engaging in desperate battle, ships of all sizes and shapes colliding in a blaze of fire. Monstrous weapons being brought to bear and objects the size of moons falling from the heavens to obliterate worlds. **

"…**From the begetting of Demons. Our Emperor, deliver us…"**

**Next, huge space creatures gave chase to Imperial Warships, alien vessels collided in asteroid fields strewn with dead ships and single seat fighters weaved amongst the weapons fire of mammoth craft that could destroy them by accident. **

"…**From the Blasphemy of the fallen. Our Emperor, deliver us…"**

**More Imperial ships were trading blows with the traitorous fleets of chaos before it descended into the bloody business of ramming and boarding actions. Huge space stations were covered in fire as the thousands of vessels around them fought. Mechanicus Fleets started to join the fray, explosions blossoming amongst their number as the huge weapons they carry made ready to fire.**

"…**A Morta Perpetua Domine Libera Nos." The images vanish and Jaune opens his eyes and we see his face. His eyes glowing electric blue with bolts of lightning dancing across the bridge of his nose and then he stops using his power and the effect fades, glowing blue eyes replaced with ocean blue irises of infinite depth and burden. **

"What were we just watching?" asked Nora, her usual energy subdued with the magnitude of the brief flashes of combat they all just witnessed.

"You were seeing his Innerspace Perceptions again. An Astropathic transmission I think." said Jaune.

"You say that like the gibberish you just spouted helps." commented Maria, annoyed that she has nowhere to sit this time round.

"I remember the Innerspace thing from when we were in that other in space universe where Jaunes middle name was Ender. What's an Astropathic Transmission though?" clarified Ren.

"Sorry about that. Yeah. It's a psychic interstellar message. One specially trained psychic called an Astropath, sends out a message into space and another Astropath receives it. They usually write it down for normal people but Jaune can receive the messages directly from his Astropath into his mind since he's a psychic to. Just not an Astropath."

"What was Jaune saying?" asked Weiss.

"…He was praying."

**Jaune stands from his kneeing position inside the centre of the Observation Dome of the `Clamore Faces Ligavit in Valkyrie`. His ancient sword, `Crocea Mors` held in his hand in its shield sheath, his black and frayed great coat wrapped around him and covering his armour and concealing his gun. His face, unmarred by his decades of trials, set as thunder having rarely known an honest smile or laughter. The only decoration on his body being the red letter I with gold trim around his neck on a think golden chain. His unkept shaggy blonde hair sitting atop his head and his whole form illuminated by the deck lighting of the Dome, an uncountable number of shining stars behind him.**

"Oh my…" said Weiss, taking in the image of this most serious looking version of Jaune Arc. All business, all warrior. Clearly someone of power and confidence. "…I don't think I've ever seen Jaune look like that before." finished Weiss, her breath catching just a little as she spoke.

"I know what you mean. This one just looks like someone dangerous and mysterious." agreed Blake almost purring at the idea. Several characters from her many books suddenly jumping into her mind. Luckily she and Weiss were on the other side of the hololithic table from Ruby and she didn't hear.

"**My Lord..?" asked someone behind Jaune and he turned to see Sister Nikos kneeling near the deck access to the dome with the aft aspect of the huge command decks behind her beyond the dome. "…what news?" she asked, her head still bowed down. Her pony tail of long red hair passing over her shoulders and nearly reaching the deck with the rest of her scalp bold. Her armour as pristine as always, nearly all black with white decorations of wings and the symbol of her order, the Fleur-De-Lys proudly displayed on her breast plate. Her blood red cloak and loin cloths attached to her armour as pristine as everything else.**

**Her chain sword, a Locke Pattern `Mercy` variant called `Iram Materna` rested on her back ready to be put to use. Her Bolt pistol in her leg holster, her 3****rd**** if Jaune remembered correctly. Pyrrha tended to throw her pistols at her foes when she descends into her Righteous Rage, favouring the brutality of `Iram Materna` when it comes time to administer the God-Emperors Justice.**

"Holy pancakes! Do you see that thing? Weiss, that guy you fought on the train had a chainsaw sword didn't he?" asked Nora.

"No. He had a chainsaw that had been modified. That thing looks like a production model version. What the hell type of crazy people would think it a good idea. It can't last long in combat surely." said Weiss, just as confused with this chainsaw sword as she was when that giant White Fang grunt pulled a chainsaw on her.

"What is up with her hair?!" asked Yang in horror to herself.

**Jaune walked over and offered his hand to Pyrrha and she knew from experience that this was an invitation to rise. She took his hand and stood before he marched out of the chamber, Pyrrha following behind him. **

"**We will no longer be bound for Cadia…" said Jaune as he made his way to his quarters. "…Although jumbled, the message is clear…" continued Jaune, stepping into his personal chambers, nodding at the Storm Trooper Guards flanking the doors. Pyrrha followed him inside. When the doors slammed shut Jaune fell to his knees before the statue of the god-emperor in his small personal shrine. "…Cadia has fallen."**

"**What.?!" exclaimed Pyrrha. "…That cannot be. Cadia is the most powerful Fortress World aside from Terra. It has stood against 13 Black Crusades. It has a defending fleet of millions and a standing army in the Billions. Cadians are some of the best Guardsmen in humanities ranks. They cannot fall." shouted Pyrrha marching over and standing over Jaune, daring him to refute her claims. **

**In public she was a faithful servant and warrior to Jaunes retina, but in private she was his sounding board, his confidant, the one who helps him shoulder the great burdens he must carry. Despite Jaunes position of Inquisitor, he is only human, and no human can be an Inquisitor alone. **

"**You're right. They did not fall. They outlasted Cadia." said Jaune, not looking at Pyrrha, his eyes firmly fixed on the god-emperor. **

"**I don't understand."**

"**Cadia fell…" shouted Jaune as he stood, the rage in his eyes now fixed on Pyrrha and she took a step back on reflex despite knowing that she was in no danger from her Lord. "…The Planet fell before the Guard! The Fortress World of Cadia shattered into millions of pieces as the Cadian Guardsmen continued to fight. As Battlefleet Cadia continued to duel the traitors in the void. The will of mankind is stronger than worlds, humanity has just proved it!" shouted Jaune. His rage waning with no outlet to focus it. Pyrrha just stared at Jaune in disbelief. The Cadian Gate has stood against chaos for 10000 years and now it was gone.**

"**What would you have us do?" Pyrrha finally asked. **

"**Muster my troops. Most are from Cadia, they deserve to hear this from me. I will tell Mistress Valkyrie to alter our course for Nemesis Tessera. The Inquisition will be gathering there."**

"**Your will be done Lord." said Pyrrha before she left his chambers. Jaune walked over to this ornate vox panel and called this vessels Mistress. Jaune was stood waiting for nearly a minute before his call was finally answered.**

"**What is it? You idiots should know better than…Oh. My Lord, your pardon." said a naked Ren standing in full view.**

"All of you cover your damn eyes!" shouted Nora as she jumped on Ren as if to shield him from the predations of her friends.

"Calm down Nora. We don't want Ren." said Weiss rolling her eyes.

"Dito. Sorry Ren, but I think we'd drive each other nuts romantically..." said Yang. "…although it looks like you age well."

"Thank you…" answered Ren unfazed at himself being on display on screen. "…I do appear in good health for this versions age. How old is he?" asked Ren to Jaune.

"Around 70 I think." answered Jaune, Oscar looking everywhere but at the screen next to him and Rubies cheeks pinking.

"70! What's his secret? Please don't say smoothies." asked Blake in a very serious tone.

"Oh no. Drugs, Juvenant Drugs."

"**Where is your Mistress?" demanded Jaune, Rens nakedness of no issue to him.**

"**Bloody hell I'm coming. Nearly was too, fucks sack, interruptions all the bloody time…" Yelled Mistress Valkyrie from off screen as Ren tried not to smirk in front of the Inquisitor, before she marched on screen and stood in front of Ren, just as naked and on full display before the Inquisitor, hands on hips and frustrated. "…what?!"**

"My tits look great! Am I 70 in this too?" asked Nora excitedly, luckily everyone was used to being in close quarters with others and having little privacy, each having walked in on each other by now. Rubies face did turn a bit redder though and poor Oscar has now completely turned away from the screen.

"Around that I think. This Jaune never tried to find out."

"This humanity must be really advanced. Perky 70 year old boobs!" shouted Nora.

"**Make your course for Nemesis Tessera. We are no longer going to Cadia." ordered Jaune, just as unfazed with Noras nakedness as with Rens. **

"**Why, and what about your Troops? We alter away from their besieged homeworld they're gonna be pissed. My armsmen can't contain them."**

"**I will deal with my troops. As to why, no point going to a place that no longer exists…" **

**Ren and Nora looked confused for a second before realisation must have dawned with horror twisting their features. "…I expect to be on our new heading in 30 minutes." Jaune then closed the link without ceremony and before a response could be given. **

"This Cadia must be really important. This Pyrrha said it was a Fortress World. Is that what the name suggests? What did it guard?" asked Ren, one arm grabbed by Nora in a firm grip as her other free hand pokes the sides of her boobs watching them bounce.

"It guards the entire Imperium of Man. A galaxy spanning empire that despite its huge list of problems, is the only hope this galaxy has of sanity. With Cadia gone, madness and insanity itself can march into the galaxy nearly uncontested."

"That sounds really, really bad." said Nora, the energy and excitement leaving her upon hearing this. Ren immediately took notice. For Nora to react like this meant it wasn't just really, really bad.

"Wait. Are we talking about an actual planet here? The entire thing turned into a big fort?" asked Qrow.

"Yeah. Children fighting in child armies. Homes, merely a place to replace the fallen. Cities bristling with weapons, walls, and built like a maze filled with armies ready to die. Any free landscape equipped with orbital weapon batteries and anti-air. Space stations armed to defend the planet and incinerate anything on the surface that has fallen and ships by the millions as large as cities themselves ready to do everything in their power to defend the planet. Where every day is filled with training with live ammunition as a form of pray to the God-Emperor. That is Cadia."

"What about food? What about the people, actually having lives." asked Weiss, not liking one bit the image of such a world formed in her mind.

"What about them? From birth till death, protecting Cadia, and with it the Imperium is all most of these people from Cadia will ever know. They see it as their most righteous and pure duty. To die defending the Emperors Realm, is to secure a place at his side. As for food, everything is imported in from Agri-worlds. Yes Qrow, as the name suggests, a whole planet dedicated to the production and export of meat and veg." finished Jaune, completely unaware of how much his nonchalant tone was screwing with the people around him as he described what sounded to them like a nightmare. No freedoms, no life, just war and death at the end of it.

"How many people on Cadia?" asked Maria, part of her not really wanting to know.

"Oh, around 8 or 9 hundred billion. Not the most populous of worlds for its size in the Imperium, but Cadia is a Fortress, not a Hive World."

"Another world dedicated to something." said Qrow, seeming to just give up on trying to wrap his head around the nonsense this Imperium seems to be as he took a swig from his flask.

"People this time. The Imperiums' constantly fighting thousands upon thousands of wars all over the galaxy. The ranks of the guard need to be replenished."

Everyone was just standing and looking at Jaune in absolute horror. A world dedicated to the manufacture of…people, just to replace combat loses. It was completely unthinkable.

"That's…That's…" muttered Weiss, completely lost as to what to think.

"Don't get me wrong here. They don't lay around having sex all day. They work and have jobs, usually in massive factories producing weapons. They have families and lives but compared to you…this 99.9% of the Imperiums' population are, pretty much slaves."

Everyone just looked at Jaune. They didn't know what to say, or even think. This was a place so alien to them. They couldn't even understand how a place like this could even come into being.

**Jaune marched out of his chambers and signalled for the guards on his door to follow him. His quarters maybe close to the Observation Dome but the Barracks aboard this ship were a 30 minute walk away. Pyrrha may have only been a few minutes ahead of him but he knew that she and the Cadians would be ready for when he arrived. They lived in the barracks when there wasn't a war to fight, living and training, and as he predicted they were standing ready for him. When he marched into the barracks housing his thousand strong Battalion standing at parade in their Companies with Pyrrha waiting for him at the podium platform at the other end of the massive chamber.**

"**Stand with your company." ordered Jaune and his escort saluted before returning to their comrades. **

**Jaune continued his march alone. His footsteps sounding out in the silent space. When he stood with Pyrrha on the podium, he turned to his men and his deep blue eyes appraised them. These were good and loyal men and women. Strong and skilled, not the best he could call to his side, but proven. The empty space of 4 other battalions that use to fill this space testament to their dedication. The fact that they are still human beings rather than insane raving masses of bloodied flesh, proof that they had faith as strong as Steel. The fact that their homeworld broke before their brethren, solidifies the correctness of their upbringing and the Imperial Creed itself.**

**Lieutenant-Colonel Port was standing at the head of his Battalion with his command staff. A strapping and strong figure of a man despite his 50 year age being apparent. Behind him were his 6 Majors which commanded his 6 companies.**

"I imagine that's how Peters sees himself. His never been lacking in confidence." commented Ozma.

"Well this one's lacking in gut. Hope I look that strong at his age." said Qrow.

"**Cadians! I bring grave tidings this day…" shouted Jaune, his voice carrying to every part of the Barracks. "…Cadia has fallen." Several men and women fidgeted hearing that, some even looking round at the comrades in confusion. Unbreakable Cadian discipline the only thing that stopped them from shouting out against those words. Port, at the front of his army actually took a step forward. His arms coming around from behind his back and his face displaying complete shock and disbelief. **

"**That cannot be…" muttered one of the Majors before he looked back up a Jaune. "…My Lord. No force can take Cadia. It has stood since our God-Emperor walked amongst us. Cadia cannot be taken."**

"**It hasn't been…" said Jaune addressing the Major but speaking loud enough for all to hear. "…Cadia was not taken by the dread forces of chaos. In frustration due to your brethren's unbreakable resistance, the Despoiler himself destroyed your world…" shouted Jaune, making sure that his voice and his hatred carried throughout the entire barracks. "…Shattering your world while heretics and your noble kin continued to do battle on the surface. Cadia cost him hundreds of millions of men, thousands of ships and even one of the Blackstone Fortresses. One of the most powerful weapons in that traitor's arsenal…" Jaune looked out and saw his words were having the desired effect. Disbelief was replaced with certainty, despair replaced with humanities righteous fury, anguish replaced with a burning hatred and doubt, replaced with faith. Jaune turned back to address the Major. "…That is what it took for that bastard to finally kill Cadia after 10 millennia of effort Major. The cost exacted from him would please our Emperor. The fact the planet broke before the guard proves our Lords trust in us is not misplaced. Cadia is gone, but from that crime humanity will ascend and blaze a path of vengeance across the stars!" shouted Jaune, this being one of the few moments he let his passion and zeal be seen.**

"**What are our orders My Lord?" asked Port, his back straight again. His will strong knowing that although his world is gone, it went kicking and screaming and dragging filth into oblivion with it.**

"**All forces are withdrawing to outlying planetary bastions to regroup. The enemy expended great effort which will give us time. We are proceeding to Nemesis Tessera. A stronghold of my brother and sister Inquisitors in Segmentum Obscurus. We will plan our vengeance there. Continue to train, continue to be strong and disciplined. Pray for guidance from our Lord and his protection. Vengeance will be ours soon. Remember Cadia!" roared Jaune and it was taken up by the force in front of him. **

"**REMEMBER CADIA!" roared 1000 men and women voicing their hatred and despair. Jaune jumped down from the podium, Pyrrha behind him and walked up to Port. The man nodded and led Jaune and Pyrrha to his command chamber. The raised voices of 1000 angry Cadians becoming muffled behind the reinforced bulkhead hatch.**

"Well that was odd. He just told them their entire planet and everything on it was just destroyed and he's somehow whipped them up into a frenzy. I thought they would have gone mad and started rioting." said Qrow, not understanding the people displayed in the hologram at all. From the looks on everyone else's faces, no one else could either.

"It's a cultural thing. Those men and woman are Cadian Imperial Guardsmen. Some of the best natural soldiers humanity has. They are brought up nearly from birth to fight and die in the countless wars that the Imperium must fight to survive. They are taught to die standing, with a lasgun in their hands and hatred in their eyes for the enemies of humanity. That Jaune just told them that Cadia died standing, with a planets worth of lasguns in the hands of everyone on that world and filled to the brim with hatred for the foes assailing their home. To a Cadian, that's always how their world was going to end."

"**Well, the Commissars are going to have their hands full tonight now…" said Port as he grabbed a bottle of Amasec, and a bottle of water and 3 glasses. He proceeded to fill 2 with the alcoholic spirit and the last with water. Handing the water to Pyrrha, and Port and Jaune taking a glass each. "…they'll love running the battalion through the ringer tomorrow though..." Port raised his glass. "…To Cadia."**

"**To Cadia." repeated Jaune and Pyrrha before throwing their drinks back.**

"**So My Lord. What have you left out?" asked Port.**

"**Nothing that concerns you Colonel. My order and I will deal with the crisis that will soon befall us. All you need concern yourself with, is dispensing vengeance and humanities righteous fury in the battles to come." said Jaune.**

"**That I can do."**

"_**Attention all souls. This is the Ships Mistress. We have altered our heading. Repeat the `Rights of Safe Passage` and pray for our continued protection as we journey through the Immaterium. The Emperor Protects." **_**said Nora over the ships public address system.**

"**We're going to have to go up there. Aren't we?" asked Pyrrha clearly not looking forward to having to go to the domain of the Valkyrie. The Command Bridge is a sight to behold with thousands of years of history embedded in the bulk and deckheads, but Pyrrha generally found the Ships Mistress a bit hard to take. **

"What! I'm not hard to take! Tell her Ren!" shouted Nora. Her mind latching onto a new shinny topic quickly to pull her and her friends away from the darker topics this universe brought forth.

"How?" asked Ren gesturing to the hololithic table.

"Quitter! At least you guys all know I'm easy to get along with." There was a noticeable pause of at least a second.

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"Totally."

"Bestest Nora ever!" yelled team RWBY a little over the top. Nora just stared at them gobsmacked.

"I will not forget this betrayal! There will be consequences!" shouted Nora striking a dramatic pose. Ren them gently grabbed her waist and pulled her back to his chest.

"Be nice to our friends." said Ren calmly as Nora snuggled in. She lazily waved at team RWBY.

"You're forgiven."

"We must never let them split up." said Yang, as serious as anyone has ever heard her.

"Agreed." Finished Team RWBY in unison.

"**I will go alone. You'll do better here. The Guard won't act out too much with a Daughter of the Emperor in their presence." said Jaune as he placed the small glass down onto Ports desk.**

"**True My Lord. Though the quality of the home brew will factor in as well. The more promethium involved the more…out going them become." smirked Port.**

"**I could do with knocking a few heads together." commented Pyrrha**

"**I will take my leave." and with that Jaune turned and left Port and Pyrrha. Jaune heard Pyrrha exit right after but lost her quickly in the noise of the Cadians. Most were toasting their lost world with the self-produced liquor the Commissars were never able to find. Sharing stories and swearing vengeance.**

**Other groups were praying, asking the God-Emperor to protect them in the battles to avenge their home that will come and to guide the souls of the lost into his light. Pyrrha gathered around these guardsmen and woman and started to lead their prays. The last group were scattered about in small numbers or by themselves where they just sat, crying, groaning, and cursing. Dealing in their own way.**

**Jaune marched through them all. Everyone parting before the Inquisitor, none daring to block his path. The guards from before falling in behind him and Jaune turned to them.**

"**Remain. I give you leave to be with your brethren this night. Return to your posts tomorrow." The 2 saluted before Jaune turned away and continued to the Command Bridge. A good 40 minute walk away from the Barracks. Jaune never took the lifts aboard ships if he could help it. 30 years ago before Jaune was elevated to Inquisitor and was still an Interrogator under his mentor, he became trapped inside a lift during battle. For 12 hours he was confined as his Masters vessel was engaged in furious battle. The ribbing from his fellow members of his Lords retinue lasted months, and for those 12 hours, Jaune was completely helpless.**

"You never really think about those types of things. What if we ever find ourselves on a vessel during combat and become trapped. Unable to influence anything around us. I have to admit I would find that quiet frightening." said Weiss, hugging herself slightly.

"Well, as far as I'm aware no airship or sea going vessel employs elevators for that very reason. However, every vessel we have doesn't take 40 minutes to walk its length." commented Ozma.

"Oh he wasn't walking its length. That would take a few hours. This vessel is 4 kilometres long and made up of vast spaces as well as a labyrinth of alleyways." said Jaune.

"4 kilometres?! As in 4000 meters!" exclaimed Maria.

"Yep, and this is only a light cruiser. Some of the biggest ships are up to 14, a few even larger than that. Some have lost, communities in their depths. Kind of like villages that have been cut off and survive on leaking water pipes and algae. Not even knowing what a spaceship is or even that planets exist." said Jaune.

"You have got to be joking." asked Weiss hopefully. She was finding this insanity a little difficult to take.

"I wish I was." answered Jaune, and Weiss's shoulders slumped.

**Jaune marched onto the Command Bridge. The hum of prays was a constant and comforting background noise as the hundred strong bridge crew tirelessly worked at their cogitators, and the few tech-priests walked amongst them swinging incense burners and blurting their own binary prays. **

**The only 3 people worth noting were on the Primary Deck, Ships Mistress Nora Valkyrie herself sitting in her Command Throne. Not plugged into the vessel at present as she couldn't really do anything while the vessel was at warp. Thankfully clothed now, her huge Bicorn atop her head, decorated with the Imperial Eagle and backed by the Pink Lightning Bolt of Nora's ancient family. Her black armoured bustier and tight leather britches showing off her figure while the light pink great coat with black trim and silver buttons covered the rest of her. Her boots completed her mismatched outfit. She was currently viewing the hololith table as several statistics and projections hovered above it. Her hand resting on the pummel of her hammer. The simple but massive weapon a signature of all Valkyries, Jaune noted her Shotlas resting beside her throne. Jaune couldn't really remember having ever seen it move. She claimed the weapon after smashing its former owner across the bridge when he insulted her. He knew it was sanctified and refurbished by the tech-priests aboard the ship and made ready for immediate use but beyond that it hadn't been touched. **

**Next to her was the ever present 1****st**** Mate aboard the ship and Nora's lover. Lie Ren. As far as Jaune was aware they'd always been together. Raised together, lived together, now love together. Completely and totally loyal and devoted to his Mistress. **

"Totally Loyal and Devoted to me, and I'm your MISTRESS! You're my little minion." teased Nora, still leaning against Rens' chest with his arms around her waist. Ren rolled his eyes but his smirk that he tried to suppress made Nora giggle.

**Ren nodded to Jaune being the first to notice him as always, ever observant. His command data-slate in his hands and his black and gold trimmed officers' uniform as prim and proper as ever with his twin Power Wakizashi on his hip.**

"**Ships Mistress, presenting our Lord, Inquisitor Arc." said Ren, catching Noras attention and she looked around to Jaune. Hopping off her Command Throne to meet Jaune at the Hololithic table. **

"Hey, that's here. We're on the bridge." shouted Ruby jumping up and down in excitement and looking around the area with new knowledge.

"It's so large…I understand the vessel itself is very large but does it really require some much space and so many bridge crew?" asked Ren thoughtfully.

"The humans of this time and in this universe are extremely averse to automation. Around 17 thousand years ago their first interstellar empire was near destroyed by what they called the `Men of Iron`. Robots…" said Jaune when everyone gave him questioning looks at the name. "…legions upon legions of them made to protect humanity. They turned on their masters and war rages throughout the galaxy. It was near complete devastation wherever the 2 sides met in combat. That's why so much is done manually, or with cyborgs. Humanity will never again create thinking machines."

"**Jaune, what brings you to the helm of my ship?" asked Nora, huffing as she adjusted several of the statistics being displayed.**

"**By now the Navigator should have been able to gauge the path ahead. I want to know what our estimated arrival time will be?" said Jaune all business as ever with the flamboyant Ships Mistress. Mistress Valkyrie has always been a blunt, unsubtle person lacking the graces other Rogue Traders carry themselves with. Part of him found it refreshing that the Rosetta around his neck didn't fill her with fear, but despite her skill, part of him wished she'd be a little more professional. **

"**For Thrones sake. Again? We're in the Warp. Time doesn't mean all that much in here. Have you forgotten having your army on standby for 3 days last year?" **

"**Irregardless. I want the Navigators ETA."**

"**By the Emperors wrinkly bollocks…" muttered Nora before she reached over and punched the vox button for the Navigations Blister. "…Navigator, what's our ETA..?" ordered Nora. A few seconds later the Hololith table pinged and text appeared in High Gothic. Nora punched the button again. "…I know! But his up here again asking. You'd think a Malleus Inquisitor would know better."**

"**Valkyrie." said Jaune, his tone warning. Nora does this every time and the only reason he hasn't killed her already is because a very small part of him finds it amusing. However, he can't let it go on too long as others might get ideas. He is an Inquisitor. His word is law second only to the Emperor and purging the vessel now would waste time.**

**Thankfully Nora knows this, she likes to have her fun but she knows she and everyone onboard lives at Jaunes whim. She and her ship belonged to the Inquisitor until their contract was complete.**

"What does that mean? They live at Jaunes whim?" asked Yang. Unusually subdued, but not that surprised given some of the topics discussed.

"Just that. Jaunes word is literally law. As is that of all Inquisitors. They have the authority to do anything that they want. Including, on the spot executions." said Jaune.

"Jaune would never do that!" shouted Ruby.

"You're right. You're Jaune would never murder someone in cold blood. This Jaune…" Jaune gestured to the screen. "…has, and will again on scales you really don't want to think about. Unfortunately, it's completely necessary. Just take heart knowing that this Jaune is probably the most kind-hearted and forgiving Inquisitor…ever. However, he won't shy away from doing what needs to be done."

"**Ok. You know I'm messing. It's just our inner circle up here." said Nora smirking, still holding down the vox button.**

"**Which is why I haven't shot you. Emperor give me strength, but I actually enjoy the banter at times. No one else dares."**

"**Did you catch that..?" asked Nora into the vox. A couple of seconds later the hololith table pinged again. "…3 days. Give or take a century."**

"**You wish Valkyrie. She's already been guiding us for a week, will she be alright?" asked Jaune.**

"**This is what her kind is for. The best can guide a ship for months without a break. Ours doesn't have that stamina, but she can do a few weeks no issue, and she's precise, and precision in the warp is a valuable thing in a Navigator. Hey, where's twisted nickers?" commented Nora.**

"**SISTER NIKOS…" said Jaune putting emphasis on her name and position. "…is in prays with the Cadians."**

"**Inquisitor Arc. I require several moments of your time." said the blunt and distorted voice of Magos Poledina. His huge artificial frame plugged into the hololithic table went largely ignored by everyone since he is usually deeply submerged in the Nooscape of the ship. His numerous mechadendrite limbs retracting from the table and disappearing within his red robes that hide nearly all his body as his carriage stomped around the table on its 4 powerful mechanical legs to address Jaune.**

"Poledina? Is that Pennies Dad!" shouted Ruby pointing at the hologram.

"This universes version of him yes. He's a member of the Adeptus Mechanicus. A religious order that worships and maintains machines." answered Jaune.

"**What do you need Magos?" asked Jaune. **

"**In orbit of Nemesis Tessera is a Mechanicus Orbital. I will require this ship to dock there in order to calibrate several vital systems installed during this vessels refit."**

"**Ships Mistress…" said Jaune turning to Nora as she walked back to her throne. "…I believe you heard the good tech-priest. Make for the facility he designates when we get in system…" Jaune turned back to the Magos. "…Your request is granted Magos. Assuming no difficulties in system we should be able to proceed straight there."**

"**Any chance during these calibrations you can get that god-emperor awful `I` off the prow of my ship." muttered Nora, but loud enough to be heard by everyone. **

"**You may not like how it looks but you certainly like how it gets you priority access to…pretty much everything." said Jaune.**

"**Now, last time we were in dock. The Wing Struts? Those bloody launchers throw out…"**

"**No."**

**Nora stopped talking and slowly looked up at the Inquisitor. The comradery before was gone from his face and voice now. He was now looking right at her and his eyes held nothing, but Inquisitor. Penetrating, something to be feared, something not to be questioned, something merciless and brutal and uncompromising. Nora was unashamed when cold fear flashed through her, comforted only by Ren talking a step closer to her. They all knew no one on board could stop the Inquisitor, but she loved him all the more for the gesture anyway. **

**Then Jaunes face softened and a small, rare smile adorned his features. **

"**Uncle Jaune..!" shouted Ran Valkyrie as she charged into the Command Bridge at full pelt and latched onto Jaunes waist, her bodyguards panting behind her as they stood at the Bridge entrance. The 9 year old daughter of Ren and Nora and at present their only offspring was the purest soul Jaune had ever been in the presence of and he couldn't help but smile when she approached. **

Everyone looked round at Ren and Nora, and all of them couldn't help but smile at what they saw. Ren and Nora were literally gobsmacked, both their mouths hanging open and just looking at this possible version of their daughter.

"Oh my Oum Ren look. A little girl." said Nora, at normal volume. She was filled with awe and wonder at what the scene on screen represented. She couldn't care less that a few seconds ago she was fearful of what this Jaune might do to her counterpart and Ren. Now, this was her focus.

"Yeah." answered Ren, not knowing what to say. His usual stoic demeanour crumbling with this view of his and Noras` potential family.

"Oh we are so going to make one of those!" shouted Nora as she spun around and crushed Ren in a death hug.

The other girls in the room knew the feeling, still being as young as they are and in the profession they're in they never really thought about it that much but having Nora and Rens' potential daughter right in front of them kicked their maternal instincts into gear.

Ruby had the biggest smile on her face and laughing with joy with the odd tear running down her face. Weiss was right next to her, smile just as big with an arm round her. Blake was more sombre, part of her wondering whether she would ever even find anyone again worthy of her trust to make something so wonderful.

"I bag aunt!" shouted Yang, jumping up and down and them somehow scooping up all of team RWBY, jNpR and Oscar into a massive hug.

"**Hello Ran…" said Jaune, resting a hand on top of her head. "…what brings you up here? You know how your mother and father are about non-business on the bridge."**

"**It's ok. Mummy gave me an important task. I'm here to give her my report!" shouted the girl, as full of energy as her mother.**

"**Then you best be about it." said Nora, sitting straight in her Command Throne now, every bit the uncontested Mistress of her ship.**

**Ran coughed and gave Jaune a huge grin and double thumbs up before marching over to her mother. She was all but the spitting image of Nora but in miniature even wearing similar clothing minus the hat. She reached into her coat and brought out a dataslate.**

"**Mother, may I present my findings regarding the mass shift aboard ship during the last dry-docking, and our new thrust axis."**

**Nora took the dataslate and marched over to the hololithic table. She plugged the device in and a hologram of the ship appeared with Statistics, Thrust Vectors, Bending and Shearing forces and a new thrust program to account for the a new mass to thrust axis due to the new loads in the Wing Struts.**

"**Magos, your input." ordered Nora. Poledina stomped back to his spot and plugged back in.**

"**Impressive Ships Mistress. The data appears accurate and is a match for my own." answered the Magos, playing the part for the young future ships mistress benefit.**

"**Her recommendations?"**

"**Sound. Acceleration will drop by 2% however, but structural stability will significantly improve. She has a gift from the Omnissiah for interpreting the aliments of the machine."**

"The Omni what?" asked Qrow.

"The Machine God."

"A god for machines?" asked Blake, being one of the first to get over the Ran reveal.

"A god OF machines. The tech-priests believe all devices have a spirit and are in part a manifestation of the Machine Gods will. To fix things or make things they have to pray to that spirit as much as do maintenance. Otherwise it won't work."

"Ridiculous." said Weiss, disregarding the notion as absurd.

"Is it? There are versions of Jaune out there that are machines. How do you explain his soul being born into a machine? How do you explain Penny?" asked Jaune reasonably. Everyone paused as they thought about that.

"Some Atlas robots have been found acting strangely before now. Following orders in odd whys, looking at paintings for hours, even standing guard over flowers." said Qrow, looking around thoughtfully at the others.

"Corrupted coding?" ventured Yang.

"Or the spirit of the machine. Slowly waking." countered Jaune.

"**Oh God-Emperor you are so cleaver..!" shouted Nora as she scooped Ran up in a huge hug and spun her around, her roleplay as a noble Rogue Trader thrown out the window. "...I've made a genius…"**

**Cough cough. Fake coughed Ren, still standing at his post. Going over the data on his own dataslate and implementing the new thrust program, with a smile on his face. "…yes yes, you helped."**

**Ran walked up to her father expectantly. He looked down at her and quickly brought her into a one armed hug at his side.**

"**I knew you would be able to do it Ran. I'm very proud of you." said Ren as his daughter looked up with love and joy.**

"**So, are you ready to see it?" asked Nora expectantly.**

"**See what?" asked Jaune, playing his part and pretending ignorance as Nora requested a while ago. He rarely got to be in the presence of such warmth and joy and wasn't going to throw the opportunity away.**

"**Our most prised treasure. The Valkyrie Warrant of Trade…" said Nora as she walked up to her daughter. Rans mouth hung wide open, she'd only ever heard of the warrant in prays when she and her mother gave thanks to the Emperor.**

"**Really?"**

"**It is a sight to behold little one. A wonder from before. Legends and history and truth made real." offered Jaune.**

**Nora held out her hand and Ran walked over to take it, and then looked back at her father.**

"**The Warrant is a scared thing to the Valkyries. It's not for me. The Inquisitor has seen it because he has the authority to. I do not." said Ren.**

"**Come Ran. Time to see our legacy." said Nora as she guided Ran out of the Bridge, nodding to Ren as they exited.**

**Jaune followed, he always marvelled at what was hidden aboard the Valkyrie in its most secure vault. Always humbled and awed to see something nearly impossible, and today, Jaune needed his faith reaffirmed.**

**They walked for a while in silence, through ornate alleyways and past chambers and generators and training halls until they entered a long narrow passage with a dead end. Nora placed her hand to it and her finger prints and a blood sample were taken to verify her identity and heritage. Then she had Ran do the same, so in the future when Nora past away and Ran was the leader of the Valkyries she too would be able to gain access. **

**The false bulkhead moved away and displayed a small, golden chamber, empty but for a single item. A box, sitting on a pedestal. Covered with the symbols of the Valkyries and the Imperium.**

"**Is that it?" asked Ran quietly, hesitantly.**

"**That is a Null Box. The most secure form of containment known. Nothing can get in without permission and nothing can harm it. If left alone, that box will outlast everything, even time, and it keeps the warrant safe." said Nora, just as humbled as her daughter.**

**Nora reached out to the box and allowed it to sample her like the door. She then pressed icons seemingly at random for a full minute before the lid of the box clicked and opened. It revealed a plush interior with a single document resting in the centre. Untouched by time thanks to the box. **

**The Valkyrie Warrant of Trade, signed by the God-Emperor himself and seconded by Reboute Guilliman. As far as anyone knew, this was the only example of both signatures on a single document in existence.**

"**Our Warrant of Trade. This details the deeds our ancestors preformed in the service to our God-Emperor himself and his most loyal son. It details the freedoms he has granted us, the duties he requires of us, and is proof that he watches us still."**

**Ran fell to her knees and started praying, Nora right behind her. Jaune stood behind the 2. His voice spoke with the authority only the Emperor was above. He was about to induct a new Valkyrie into a dynasty that although has fallen upon hard times, has served the Imperium faithfully for 10000 years pushing back the darkness, and served the God-Emperor himself before that.**

"**Our Lord God-Emperor, he that is the light and the day and fills humanity with his righteous purpose. I, Inquisitor Jaune Arc of your most holy Ordo Malleus of your Inquisition. Do bear witness to this continuation of the noble Valkyrie Dynasty, and will see it chronicled in the annuals of our Glorious Imperium. Long may the Valkyries continue to serve. Long may they continue to push back against the darkness. Long may they praise your Name." finished Jaune. **

"Well. That seemed important." said Qrow, throwing back another swig of his canteen.

"Well, religion is a difficult thing to grasp. I doubt any of us here could understand what it must mean to those in this universe, not having any real religion of our own anymore." said Ozma, remembering facing some of the Grimm cult hundreds of years ago. Faith and belief are powerful, but easily manipulated or misplaced.

"But…they are praying to a piece of paper?" asked Ruby, trying to be understanding but just not knowing how or why anyone would do that.

"That piece of paper guaranties the Valkyries freedoms, and is signed by their God…" said Jaune, putting emphasis on God. "…I wouldn't try to understand it. Unless you've experienced that type of doubtless faith yourself, I don't think you can."

"**Thank you Uncle Jaune." said Ran as she looked up at him with tear filled eyes of wonder.**

"**I'm glad it was you that saved us." finished Nora as she hugged her daughter. **

"**Unlike most of your fellow Rogue Traders, you serve the Imperium before yourselves. Further our Lords ideals before pursuing your own. Valkyries are still worthy of what the God-Emperor entrusted to you. I'm grateful that I can help you rebuild. 90 more years of service to me you have before you can once again forge a path amongst the stars, and I know you will continue to serve with faith as you do so."**

**Jaune turned away from Nora and Ran and walked back down the alleyway. He walked forward away from the chamber until its golden glow was eclipsed and all that could be seen was the dark red, gold trimmed letter I hanging round his neck.**

**Jaune walked back to the privacy of his quarters and again knelt before the statue of the God-Emperor.**

"**Before this is over your realm will burn. The Eye of Terror expands. Humanities faith is tested like never before and most will be found wanting. I hereby reaffirm my vows of loyalty and service to you. I will stand and fight your enemies with every fibre of my being, I will make them pay for every sin they have committed, every crime against you. I beg for your strength to fill my body and empower my will. I beg you, deliver us."**

**Across the galaxy an ancient machine died, and for the first time in 10 millennia, a demi-god opened his eyes.**

The hololithic screen disappeared.

"Well. That was a thing. Glad I don't live there." said Yang as she pushed herself off the railings. Feeling confused and a little fearful of what she just witnessed. The same as everyone else.

The forces they just witnessed fighting each other, the scale of it all, the hopeless lives thrown away like nothing, and the sheer power of the faith they'd seen.

"That was a little all over the place. They seem like good guys, but, I thought Jaune was going to kill Nora for a second for questioning him…" Ruby then turned to the Jaune with them. "…would he have?"

Jaune breathed out a sigh before answering. "Yes…" he answered finally. "…he will always do what needs to be done. He is an Inquisitor, he will kill anyone, destroy cities, planets, all to achieve his goal. You just have to understand that no matter what evils that Jaune does in your eyes, if he did nothing, the outcome would be even worse." said Jaune

The room started to get brighter as it prepared to send them to its next destination. They all hoped they didn't come back here anytime soon. It was just too crazy.

(Crossover = 40k (varies sources))

The ship according to the Rogue Trader rules.

Vessel Hull = Light Cruiser Class = Dauntless

Name = Clamore Faces Ligavit in Valkyrie

Speed = 7 Manoeuvrability = 10

Detection = 30 Turret Rating = 1

Shields = 1 Armour = 18

Hull Integrity = 63

Machine Spirit has a `Nose for Trouble`

Free Space = 0 Power unused = 2

Prow Mounted Titanforge Lance Weapon = 1

Port Mars Pattern Macrocannons = 1

Starboard Mars Pattern Macrocannons = 1

Essential Components;

Jovian Pattern Class 3 Drive, Strelov 2 Warp Engine, Geller Field, Warpsbane Hull, Single Void Shield Array, Command Bridge, Vitea Pattern Life Sustainer, Voidsmens Quarters, Mark 201b Auger Array.

Supplemental Components;

Cargo Hold and Lighter Bay, Luxury Passenger Quarters, Barracks, Reinforced Interior Bulkheads, Armour Plating, Temple-shrine to the God-Emperor, Observation Dome, Extended Supply Vault.


	6. Chapter 6

**Lost Arc**

**6**

When the light once again faded the group found themselves is some sort of underground stone structure made up of columns and archways, but unlike before, these were at a much more modest hight, and filled with art. An eclectic collection of lamps and wall lights filled the space with a warm light, illuminating beautiful paintings of people and places and nature. Statues of people and animals. Tasteful and lovingly crafted furniture, a piano, a jukebox, projectors, insects, suits of armour and ancient weapons, and books everywhere. Truly a breath-taking collection of humanities history through art.

"Oh my. Would you look at this…" said Ozma as he stepped away looking around in wonder. "…truly the home of a scholar." finished Ozma as he appraised a large vase that come up to his stomach from off the floor and was covered in some of the most intricate patterns he had ever seen.

"Or the basement of a classy hoarder." commented Qrow as he wondered round looking at a few of the pieces of armour, before he noticed the kitchen and decided to look for a refill for his flask.

"Hey. There's a TV over here…" Yang half shouted to be heard by everyone. She examined it and found a flimsy looking plastic case. "…`The Count of Monte Cristo?"

"An 86 year old adventure film based on a 176 year old book. A most excellent piece of fiction." commented Jaune as he stood behind the leather sofa facing the TV. Maria and the girls were currently laying claim to it with Ren sitting on the arm next to Nora.

"What's it about?" asked the older woman as she got comfy.

"Corruption, conspiracy, love, justice and vengeance. Typical subjects from that period really, just told really well. Fitting to considering the version of me we're going to watch."

"Do you know beforehand what we're going to see?" asked Ruby.

"No. Not really. I only know what I've learned myself, and what every other Jaune knows. I know that this is the Shadow Gallery. The home of another Jaune, there are universes further along in their timelines that I can refer to but they will always be different in an infinite number of ways. So I have an idea what we're going to see, but I don't know for certain."

Qrow, Oscar and Ozma had found some other chairs dotted around and arranged them to the side of the sofa, for once everyone had a seat, apart from Jaune who decided to go look for one.

Then the TV switched on and the gang settled in.

/

**The screen showed a close up of James Ironwoods face on the screen wearing a suit and in front of a really big clock, apparently sitting at a desk. **

"**So, I read that the former United States is so desperate for Medical Supplies that they have allegedly sent several containers filled with wheat and tobacco…" the scene changed showing that Ironwood was himself on TV, a man wearing black clothing was sitting down at a vanity mirror as he took a mask from a stand and placed it over his face hiding his features. The mask itself was white with pink dusting on the cheeks, black eyebrows, a black moustache and thin goatee, and black eyes fielding a small smile.**

/

"Oh that's creepy. The smile does not make it seem friendly at all." commented Qrow.

/

"…**A gesture they said of goodwill. You want to know what I think? You're listening to my show so I will assume you do? I think it's high time we let the colonies know what we really think of them. I think its payback time for a little tea party they threw for us a few hundred years ago. I say we go down to those docks tonight and dump that crap where everything from the Ulcered Sphincter of Asserica belongs! Who's with me? Who's bloody with me..?"**

**The man in black was combing his hair when Ironwood finished and looked up at the TV when the audience applauded. Apparently approving of the inflammatory rhetoric.**

/

"This Ironwood sounds like Velvet too. Nice to know she's not alone in the universe." commented Blake.

"Johnny Boys got his audience eating out of his hand. Didn't think any version of him had personality enough to manage it." said Qrow dismissively.

/

"**Did you like that..?" said Ironwood smirking. "…USA, Ulcered Sphincter of Asserica I mean what else can you say? Here was a country that had everything, absolutely everything and now 20 years later is what? The worlds biggest Leper Colony. Why? Godlessness. Let me say that again, Godlessness…" Ironwood almost growled, clearly being caught up in his own words and in so doing driving his audience. The man is black just continued to get himself ready for whatever he was going to do. Putting on Black Leather gloves and boots.**

"…**It wasn't the war they started, it wasn't the plague they created, it was judgement. No one escapes their past. No one escapes judgement…" The black clad man fixed his belt around him and secured his long knifes as Ironwood continued to speak. **

"…**You think he's not up there? You think he's not watching over this country..?"**

/

"Do you think it's going to be more religious stuff like the last universe?" asked Yang as she started to become a little uncomfortable with what this version of Ironwood was saying.

"It's not as bad, but still bloody awful." answered Jaune.

/

"**How else can you explain it? He tested us and we came through. We did what we had to do. Isslington. Enfield. I was there I saw it all. Immigrants, Muslims, Homosexuals, Terrorists. Disease-ridden degenerates. They had to go. Strength through unity, Unity through Faith. I'm a god-fearing Englishman and I'm god-damned proud of it!"**

**The man in black them swung a cape onto his shoulders and turned the TV off as Ironwoods audience started to applause. **

/

"Bloody hell that's some intolerant crap tumbling from his gob. Glad we've never had anything like that here." said Maria as the girls sat next to her fidgeted in discomfort hearing Ironwood speak.

"Unfortunately, we on Remnant didn't use to be much better. Only a couple of hundred years ago we were very similar. Just much more primitive and replace homosexuals with Faunus." corrected Ozma, as unpleasant memories of abused and caged Faunus came to his mind from lifetimes ago.

"The only person we've actually seen so far is that person dressed in black with the mask. Do you think that's Jaune? Do you think he believes what that Ironwood was saying?" asked Oscar nervously.

"I don't think so and I think you're right, this must be Jaune. I bet his going to go out and start correcting those wrongs. Ours wouldn't stand for it." said Ruby, her tone and conviction in Jaunes character helping everyone else start to get past all the wrong things they just heard.

/

"**A yellow coded curfew is now in effect. Any unauthorised personal will be subject to arrest. This is for your protection." **

**The black clad figure had finished his preparations and was waiting for tomorrow to begin. The Public Address System blaring out into the night its warning for the populace to remain in doors, allowing government personal free reign during the night.**

"**Don't touch me!"**

**The black clad figures head shot up as that sentence penetrated his awareness. A female voice raised in anger and fear. He continued to hear the mumbling of other voices as he moved to investigate, hoping it was a lovers quarrel rather than anything that would require intervention. **

**As he closed in he felt disappointment swell up in his gut as the situation became clear, with multiple male voices reaching him.**

"**Oh God! No! Please don't do this! I'll go home! I won't do it again I swear!" shouted the woman as she raised her voice in panic.**

"**What do you think Lads?"**

"**Spare the rod. Spoil the child."**

**Hahahahahaha**

"**No please! Someone help! Please!"**

**The black clad figure then turned the corner seeing a young woman being held by a man as 2 others closed in on her.**

"**The multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon him." said the figure as he drew everyone's attention. All pausing and looking in utter confusion at the black clad figure wearing a mask under a large brimmed hat.**

"**What the hell. Bugger off." said one of the men. A large knife flashed into the figures hand.**

"**He's got a knife."**

**The figure walked towards the scene and one of the men moved to intercept him pulling out his ID.**

"**Destaining fortune with his brandished steel, which smoked with bloody execution."**

"**We're Fingermen pal." said the one that moved closer, showing his official government ID. That was promptly cut from his hand before the figure spun his knife around and hit his target with the pummel and sent him flying into a brick wall. The next man pulled a gun and the figure caught his hand with his knife and disarmed him before cutting his belt and voice his disgust at the Fingerman before throwing him behind him. The last Fingerman threw the woman aside before pulling out a baton. The two traded some blows that the figure easily dodged before disarming him and putting his knife away. The Fingerman then pushed him in the mask and its metal coating winning against his knuckles. As the man yelled in pain the figure grabbed his throat and threw him into another wall. The figure noticed the 2****nd**** Fingerman crawling for his gun and picked up the baton before stamping on the trousers round his ankles. The man looked up in terror begging for mercy.**

"**We are oft to blame in this tis too much proved, that with devotions visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself."**

"**What does that mean?!" begged the man as he breathed faster and faster. The figure brought the baton above his head.**

"**Spare the rod." The baton then came down with a wet crunch. **

/

"Holy shit. That got heavy quick. Good thing your goofball was there." said Qrow. Relieved that they got to miss out on watching some poor woman get raped by the supposed authorities.

"Oum! Is that Velvet!" said Blake as they all looked harder at the screen.

"Oh crap you're right. I didn't recognise her with no rabbit ears." said Yang.

"Thank Oum Jaune was there then." said Nora, holding onto Rens arm tight to stop it from shaking as his anger threatened to boil. Only Nora noticed, only she and their Jaune could read Ren to any real degree. Ren took a calming breath.

"At least we now know this is Jaune. His accent sounds like Velvets but it's his voice. Was he quoting poetry at them?" asked the quiet young man.

"No. They're lines from two different plays from this universe. Macbeth and Hamlet."

"I saw no aura again in this universe, but he was throwing those guys around with apparently little effort. People with their aura locked aren't strong enough to do that." said Ozma.

"Good eye. No, no aura again in this universe, but there are many ways to great strength. Unfortunately, this Jaune suffered greatly for that strength, and he had no choice in the matter."

Before anyone could comment the scene continued.

/

**He tossed the baton away and turned to the young woman he just saved. She was terrified and shaking gripping a mace can in her hands like a lifeline.**

"**I can assure you I mean you no harm." said the figure as he slowly walked towards the woman.**

"**Who are you?" asked the woman.**

"**Who? Who is the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask." replied the figure.**

"**Well I can see that."**

"**Of course you can. I'm not questioning your powers of observation, I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man, who he is."**

/

"He does have a point." pointed Weiss.

"Are we going to have to decode everything this Jaune says. It'll be like when we first had to deal with Weiss all over again." said Yang.

"Hey."

/

"**Oh. Right."**

"**But on this most auspicious of nights permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet to suggest the character of this dramatis persona…" said the figure as he lowered his head. Before throwing his arms out wide. "…Voila! In view a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate…" **

**The woman was looking on in complete confusion not expecting a theatre performance in a dark alley at night from her saviour after nearly being raped. Her saviour then gestured to his mask. "…This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished..." the figure closed slowly on the woman with his voice gaining power as he gestured with his closed fists, obviously believing everything he was saying with a passion. "…However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition…" the man then abruptly turned away and pulled one of his knifes and in a fast and fluid motion cut a large V into a poster on a wall with the blade generating sparks as it travelled before going back onto his belt.**

"…**The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta. Held as a votive not in vain for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous…" he then turned back to face the woman and saw the look of utter confusion on her face and couldn't help but crack a laugh. "…Ha ha ha. Verily this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose. So let me simply add that it is my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V." finished V as he removed his hat and bowed.**

/

"Errrrr…"

"Weiss?" asked Ruby hearing her friend.

"That was the most elaborate introduction I've ever heard…" muttered the heiress as she tried to decode what the Jaune on screen just said. "…Well. He calls himself V."

"Wow. Good job." said Qrow.

"Look! My education may have been very thorough, but it didn't include an in-depth evaluation of the letter V!" shouted Weiss.

"I get the feeling this Jaune is a rebel. From what we've seen, I'd say the government is quite oppressive and he sees himself as the voice of a subdued population." said Ozma, slowly, as if still going through what was said himself.

"We'll let you off Weiss. Not even you were that hard to figure out." said Yang.

"Why did he just introduce himself as V?" asked Blake.

"Because that's who he thinks he is. I'm sure it will become clear later." answered Jaune.

"Going off that introduction I'm guessing he's a little crazy." commented Maria.

/

"**Are you like a crazy person?" said the woman.**

/

"Ha!"

/

**V stood and replaced his hat atop his head.**

"**I'm quite sure they will say so. But to whom might I ask am I speaking?"**

"**I'm Velvet."**

"**Velvet? VelVet, but of course you are." said V putting emphasis on the Vs in Velvets name.**

"**What does that mean?" **

"**It means that I, like God, do not play with dice and do not believe in coincidence…" V walked up to Velvet and offered his hand to the young woman still sitting on the ground. "…Are you hurt?"**

"**No I'm fine. Thanks to you." said Velvet as she got to her feet with Vs' help.**

"**Oh I merely played my part, but tell me, do you enjoy music Velvet?"**

"**I suppose." answered Velvet cautiously.**

"**You see, I'm a musician of sorts, and on my way to give a very special performance."**

"**What kind of musician?"**

"**Percussion Instruments are my speciality but tonight I intend to call upon the entire orchestra for this particular event and would be most honoured if you could join me."**

/

"Oh I wouldn't. The craziest guys are always the most charming in these types of things." said Qrow to the TV.

"You know this isn't a film right? We're watching this live taking place in another universe." commented Jaune standing nearby.

"Feels awfully like we're watching a film. Just need popcorn." finished Qrow as he left the lounge area to forage in the kitchen.

/

"**I don't think so I think I should be getting home." answered Velvet nervously.**

/

"Smart girl." shouted Qrow from the Kitchen.

/

"**I promise it will be like nothing you have ever seen, and afterwards you will return home safely." said V his voice firm but not commanding, persuasive.**

**Velvet thought for a second before giving her answer.**

"**All right."**

/

"Not smart girl. See, film logic, who in their right mind would go?" shouted Qrow at the TV as he returned. He couldn't find any popcorn but did find a packet of crisps. Worcester Sauce flavour according to the packet, not that anyone from Remnant knew what that was.

/

**It took Velvet and V a few minutes to get to where they were going, apparently it wasn't far. They found themselves on the roof of a terraced flat house surrounded by chimneys and TV aerials. Looking out over the capital city of the United Kingdom, it was a quiet night. Prominent buildings like Leadenhall and the Gherkin in the background while the Old Bailey held centre stage only a few streets away with the golden figure of Lady Justice atop the dome. **

/

"An impressive view. Testament to mankind's abilities with no Grimm to hold us back. Is the statue as symbolic as it appears?" asked Ozma, marvelling at the massive city scape, easily larger than Vale.

"Yeah, The scales represent Justice, measuring the strengths of any particular case both For and Against. The Sword conveys that Justice is shift and final. The Blindfold she wears, that is difficult to see from this distance and at night, represents Justices impartiality, regardless of wealth, position or power." said Jaune.

"All things Justice should be. So that's some sort of Court House?" said Ozma nodding.

"Indeed. It's called The Old Bailey."

/

"**It's beautiful up here." commented Velvet as she looked out at the city scape.**

"**A more perfect stage could not be asked for." responded V, also looking out at the city while Velvet looked around at the roof they occupied.**

"**I don't see any instruments?" she asked.**

"**Your powers of observation continue to serve you well. But wait..!" exclaimed V as with a flourish of his arms and a fluttering of his cape he brandished a conductors baton. "…it is to Madam Justice that I dedicate this concerto. In honour of the holiday she seems to have taken from these parts, and in recognition of the imposter that stands in her stead…" V then half turned to Velvet. "…Tell me, do you know that day it is Velvet?" **

"**Err. November the 4****th****." At that very moment the bells of the Westminster Chimes started to sound, chiming out across the city.**

"**Not anymore…" V and Velvet looked out again across the city. The mixture of old and new buildings coming together like very few other places on Earth.**

/

"The Westminster Chimes. I like that, Vale used to have a clock tower with bells too. Expect they were sounded only when there was a Grimm attack incoming. The main clock bell was a much simpler thing." said Ozma reminiscing.

"Well these aren't for Grimm attack, these ones we're hearing now sound every 15 minutes to mark quarter hours. The Main Bell, Big Ben, is the one that sounds on the hour. We should be able to hear it shortly." said Jaune.

/

"…**Remember remember, the 5****th**** of November, the gunpowder, treason and plot…" as V was speaking the chimes finished and the nearly 150 year old Big Ben took over, sounding it deep E note over the city. "…I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot…" V then reached round and tapped a random pipe next to where he was standing as if getting the attention of an orchestra. "…First, the overture…" said V as he started waving his arms as if he really was conducting. "…Yes, yes the strings…" Velvet looked around wondering if she'd made a terrible mistake thinking her savour was sane.**

/

"Didn't I say not to go. No one ever listens." muttered Qrow to himself while he ate the crisps, as everyone looked at the screen in confusion wondering what the hell this Jaune was doing.

/

"…**Listen carefully can you hear it. Now the brass." and as he said it the sound of brass instruments could be faintly heard and slowly growing in volume.**

"**I can hear it!" exclaimed Velvet as she walked to the edge of the roof to find where the music was coming from. The speakers of the public address system were the culprit, the powerful fanfare waking and drawing people from their homes in confused wonder.**

"**How do you do that?" asked Velvet looking round at V as he continued to `conduct`.**

"**Wait, here comes the crescendo." said V and a second later he gestured to the golden statue of Lady Justice, and in perfect time with the music, the statue exploded.**

/

"Fuck me!" shouted Qrow, as he and everyone else jumped slightly in their seats, not expecting the beautiful old building to suddenly explode.

/

**The Old Bailey continued to explode as the music continued to play. Every wall, window and the dome itself seemed to explode nearly all at once, and V was continuing to conduct, now laughing rather manically as Velvet looked on in horror.**

"**How beautiful, is it not!" shouted V over the explosions and music as he continued to laugh. Fireworks started to go off now as well, as the nearly 100 year old building crumbled. Velvet continued to watch in both awe and fear as more fireworks launched, these final ones formed a V surrounded by a circle in the nights sky over London.**

/

The Television the shut off.

"…."

"What the ever loving hell. That Jaune is nuts! I like the voice, but the crazy blowing up of stuff in the most impractical and convoluted way possible has put me off a bit." said Yang as she stood from the sofa and walked away a little bit.

"While I agree with you on the sentiment regarding this Jaune, that display was very impressive. The skill, planning and coordination required is nothing short of amazing." stated Ren calmly.

"That explosion was awesome." stated Nora rather calmly too. Ren looked round in worry and relaxed when he saw stars in her eyes, that were still focused on the now inactive TV. Ren also relax a bit as well regarding this version of Jaune. He knew Nora would be acting differently if this Jaune was truly evil. She just knew these things.

"That's something our Jaune could do." said Ruby, sombrely. Not liking that out in the multiverse there was a Jaune that would plant and detonate bombs like a terrorist, and unlike building cool armour, this type of task was something her Jaune could do.

"I agree Ruby. That…" said Weiss gesturing to the TV. "…is something our Jaune could accomplish. However, you know our Jaune wouldn't, and if he ever felt he might have to. He would make sure we were with him, making sure it was the right decision."

Ruby gave Weiss a big hug and whispered thank you to her. Blake and Yang just looked at each other and shrugged, both were ready to do what Weiss had just done, it just threw they a little that Weiss actually had, and beat them to it.

"I hope we come back to this one. I like it when the little guy sticks it to the man. Plus that guy was entertaining, I've seen worse actually stage actors." said Maria.

"I'd come back for the crisps alone. Whatever Worcester Sauce is, it's amazing." said Qrow as she shacked the last few crumbs into his mouth.

The room then started to glow and it kept getting brighter and brighter until it flashed.

(Crossover = V for Vendetta)


	7. Chapter 7

**Lost Arc**

**7**

As the light faded and Blake raised her borrowed glasses above her head again, everyone looked around in relief at seeing something familiar.

"Oh thank Oum we're back here..." said Yang throwing her head back in relief. "...I liked this one. A break from terrorist and dictator Jaunes was definitely something we needed."

"I have to agree with you there. The last 2 were a bit heavy, although I'm not convinced that V Jaune was a terrorist." said Blake as she walked to and sat down on the sofa in the kitchenette area of this huge workshop everyone found themselves in again from the first universe they visited. The one where Jaune made a suit of powered armour from bits of missiles in a cave. Everyone else wondered over as well and made themselves comfortable. Qrow going straight back to the cabinets looking for a refill and after he found it, started looking for crisps.

"Well this one was pretty fun at the end. Will we continue from where we left off or what?" asked the veteran hunter.

"This one isn't much further along than the last. We should still be able to follow the chain of events. Especially as you guys can penetrate his Inner Space Perceptions." said Jaune as he wheeled over an office chair from the computer workstation as the sofa filled up.

"That's good. I really liked this one. That armour was so cool. Do you think Jaune makes other versions, do you think he makes it fly properly. He could make it more streamlined! Maybe add some more weapons to it like a sniper rifle!" started Ruby before she finished, yelling, jumping on the spot and clapping.

"Gods damn it..!" shouted Qrow from waist deep in a cupboard. "...I can't find any of those Worcester things in here! I thought this Jaune was rich?"

"He is, but he's also from the United States. Worcester is more of a British thing, not as popular here as there." answered Jaune.

"Crap! These United Statesians must be morons to not eat these things up. I'm so going to import them to Remnant. I'll make a load selling them to Sprinters." finished Qrow as he reverently folded the empty crisps packet and placed it in his pocket.

"Haha. You do that Qrow, and its Americans, We're in the United States of America, also they're just as moronic as everyone else. Just a condition the entirety of humanity suffers from. You can buy the actual sauce here, although it's a little different, but you have to import the crisps I think from the United Kingdom...Britain." finished Jaune as he got confused looks.

"How many names does that place have...jezz." said Maria.

"A few, it's made up of 4 countries. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It's called Britain, Great Britain, The British Isles, The UK, The United Kingdom...I think that's it off the top of my head for this universe." said Jaune.

"Buddy, you know Vale...it's just called...Vale." said Qrow, all snarky due to not finding his new favourite snack.

"What? It's not like I named it in this universe."

"You named that Britain place in another universe?" asked Weiss.

"Yeah, or at least another version of me did. He called it Arcadia."

"You named a country after yourself?" asked Yang.

"Another version of me yeah, and why not. He was its first King after all."

The TV in front of the sofa, this time instead of a giant holographic display, came to life and everyone got comfortable.

/

**The screen showed Jaunes workshop. He was setting up biometric monitors and attaching sensor pads to himself as he prepared to swap out his first miniature Arc Reactor for an upgraded one, he built a few days after he returned home.**

/

"Yep, definitely a civilian. Not looking bad though." commented Yang to herself as this version of Jaune prepared equipment with his shirt off.

/

**He laid himself onto the small gurney he prepared for himself before he realised, he had a small problem. He cannot see into his own chest from where his eyes currently where, and his hands where a little large for what he had in mind, plus he shocked himself when he tried. So, he activated the intercom.**

"**Pyrrha, er, how big are your hands?" he asked.**

"**What?!" came Pyrrhas' confused reply over the intercom with that huge prick from that Stock Analysis MAD money show in the background.**

"**How big are your hands?" asked Jaune again.**

"**I...I don't understand why..."**

"**Get down here I need you."**

"That sounded inappropriate." said Maria chuckling to herself.

"Don't be silly, Jaune would never take advantage of his position like that." said Ruby, all faith in Jaune like always.

"Well...you are right. He wouldn't take a shot at an employee, but this Jaune is a bit of a womaniser. Or at least he was before the whole terrorist kidnapping." said Jaune.

"Really? Jaune actually had some luck with girls. But he's so dense." said Nora loudly.

"Your Jaune is yes, this Jaune is a Billionaire Playboy. Or at least he was a Playboy, ish."

**Jaune then turned off the intercom and waited a few seconds as Pyrrha walked down the stairs and entered his workshop.**

"Oh my Oum that really is Pyrrha." said Weiss as the Pyrrha on screen walked towards Jaune. A stylish black dress hugging her figure with her red hair tied up into a bun.

"Oh I miss her so much. Jaunes been so unhappy without her..." said Nora, not seeing the reaction that got from Ruby, or maybe she did since she jumped and landed right next to her with her bottom shoving Yang down the sofa and wrapping Ruby in a huge hug. "...Luckily Team JNRR was there to lift him back up."

"RNJR!" squeaked Ruby as she tried to breath.

"**Hey...lets see em, show me your hands. Lets see em..." said Jaune miming the action himself until Pyrrha copied while walking towards Jaune with the beeping heart monitors in the background. "...oh wow they are small. Very petite indeed. I just er, need your help for a sec."**

"**My god. Is that the thing that's keeping you alive?" said Pyrrha as she stood over Jaune, concern clear in her voice. **

"**It was. It is now, an antique. This…" Jaune waved around the other brighter Arc Reactor as he was talking. "…is what will be keeping me alive for the foreseeable future I'm swapping it out for an upgraded unit and I just ran into a little, speed bump."**

"**What speed bump? What do..What does that mean?"**

"**It's nothing. It's just a little snag. There's an exposed wire under…" Jaune started to turn the old Reactor that started clicking as he unfastened it. "…this device and it's contacting the socket wall and it's causing a little bit of a short. It's…" Jaune then lifted the reactor out of his chest and gave it a tug, completely disconnecting the device from his body. "…fine."**

"**What?! What do you want me to do?" asked Pyrrha nervously as Jaune passed her the reactor, Pyrrha taking it gingerly seeing as it was the thing keeper her boss alive.**

"**Put that on the table over there, that is irrelevant." **

"Irrelevant! Do they really have such efficient energy production facilities that he would just throw that thing away like that?!" shouted Weiss, marvelling at the apparent disregard for such a miraculous device.

"No, not really. Most energy source are non-renewable with harmful by-products and pollutants. They have other, more sustainable options but the political and commercial will to enact then isn't there yet." answered Jaune.

"Are you kidding me?!" shouted Weiss again as the scene continued on-screen.

"**Oh my God." said Pyrrha as turned to the table with the first reactor and placed it on the table. **

"**I just want you to reach in and you're just gonna gently lift the wire out." said Jaune as he leaned back a little on the gurney.**

"**Is it safe?"**

"**Yeah, it should be fine it's like operation, you just don't let it touch the socket wall, or it goes beep." **

"**What's operation? What do you mean operation?" stammered Pyrrha, clearly worried and confused and feeling a little out of her element.**

"**It's just a game never mind. Just gently lift the wire. Ok? Great."**

**Pyrrha then slowly moved her hand towards the hole in Jaunes chest before pulling it back quickly.**

"**You know I..I…I don't think that I'm qualified to do this." **

"**No, you're fine. You are the most capable, qualified, trustworthy person I've ever met. You're going to do great…"**

**Jaune and Pyrrha then shared a moment as the warmth and honesty of Jaunes statement sank in before Jaune ruined it.**

"…**Is it too much a problem ask cause I'm…I'm, I really need your help here."**

"**Ok." said Pyrrha, resigning herself to her fate as she again moved her hand towards Jaunes chest and this time took the plunge.**

"**Oh…Oh..!" said Pyrrha as her hand met something unpleasant with a squelching noise coming from Jaunes chest socket and her face twisting in disgust. "There's pus!" **

"EEERRRUUUUUGGGHGGHHHH!" shouted every girl in the room with Maria being the only exception, merely roller her eyes at the reaction of her younger companions. The guys just seemed to look around in confusion wondering why the girls were acting weird.

"**It's not pus. It's an inorganic, plasmic discharge. It's from the device not from my body." said Jaune calmly as Pyrrha continued to cringe and nearly cry from having her hand covered in gunk.**

"**It smells!" Pyrrha whined.**

"**Yeah it does…"**

"Ha. That's pretty funny." said Qrow causing the girls to look round and glare at him, which he promptly ignored with a big smirk on his face.

"**The copper wire. The copper wire you got it?"**

"**Ok I got it, I got it."**

"**Ok you got it. Ok, now don't let it touch the…" just then the monitors buzzed and Jaune jumped slightly as he was shocked. "…Ahhh. That's, it's when you're coming out. That's what I was trying to tell you before."**

"**I'm sorry I'm sorry."**

"So somethings stay the same then." said Ren, remembering all the times Pyrrha would say I'm sorry.

"**Ok. Now make sure that when you pull it out you don't pull out the…" Pyrrha however had other plans and continued to pull until a small electro magnet came out of Jaunes chest followed by several alarms going of. "…There's a magnet at the end of it! That was it. You just pulled out. Ok. I was not expecting." said Jaune, still oddly calmer than what he should be.**

"**Ok what do I do?!" said Pyrrha leaning over to place the magnet back.**

"**Don't put it back in Don't put it back in." said Jaune and Pyrrha quickly placed the magnet on the table before turning back to her boss.**

"**What's wrong?" Pyrrha asked clearly concerned.**

"**Nothing I'm just going into cardiac arrest cause you yanked it out."**

"**What?! I thought you said that this was safe!" yelled Pyrrha now really worried as well.**

"**We got to hurry, take this, take this…" Jaune handed Pyrrha the new reactor. "…we got to switch this over really quick."**

"**Ok…" Pyrrha was about to just insert it before she stopped. "…Jaune it's going to be ok. I'm going to make this ok."**

"**Lets hope…" Pyrrha than reached in again holding the connector, which she didn't know was another, smaller magnet. "…Ok you're going to attach that, to the baseplate. And make sure…OOWWW. Was that so hard..?" said Jaune as the monitors stopped alarming. "…That was fine right. Here I got it…" said Jaune as he finished securing the reactor into his chest, with Pyrrha on the verge of passing out. "…Nice."**

"**Are you ok?" asked Pyrrha, gasping for breath with her hands covered in plasmic slime.**

"**Yeah I feel great. Are you ok?" said Jaune completely nonchalantly before he started laughing. **

"I think he set that up for a laugh…" said Maria, smirking. "…they must know each other really well."

"I wouldn't find it funny. If our Jaune asked me to do that I would say no. Completely pointless." huffed Weiss.

"You wouldn't help Jaune stay alive?" asked Ruby, really confused that Weiss would say that seeing as she and Jaune were getting along so much better now. Saving her life helped in that.

"Of course I would but that's not what happened here. The first reactor was going to power his heart for, and I quote. `50 lifetimes`! I think Marias is right and this one did it primarily for a laugh. That dunce."

"**Don't ever, ever, ever, ever ask me to do anything like that ever again." said Pyrrha as she started to relax a little.**

"**I don't have anyone but you." said Jaune, capturing another moment between the 2 before he disarmed it again with a quick face before jumping off his little gurney and removing the monitors which didn't result in alarms strangely.**

"**What do you want me to do with this?" asked Pyrrha as she picked up the old arc reactor and turned back towards her boss.**

"**That. Destroy it. Incinerate it." said Jaune, tapping his new arc reactor securely fastened into his chest.**

"**You don't want to keep it?"**

"**Pyrrha, I've been called many things, nostalgic, is not one of them." Pyrrha looked down slightly, a little disappointed.**

"**Will that be all Mr Arc?" **

"**That will be all Miss Nikos."**

**Jaune then turned away and started berating one of his robots. Calling everything on his desk garbage to be thrown away, as Pyrrha left the workshop with the first Arc Reactor. **

**He was only kidding of course, playing up his previous statement. **

**His mind was already on other things as he looked back at his assistant, he needed to go make a visit.**

"Those 2 are so going to have a thing." said Nora, completely sure in her prediction.

"They can't. It'll be unethical. He's her boss and she is his subordinate. It just wouldn't be appropriate." said Weiss.

"Nonsense. Love will find away!" shouted Nora as she struck a grand pose on the back of the sofa. Somehow not making the thing topple over, as the TV jumped between Jaunes workshop to him getting dressed to him driving to him walking into what appeared to be some sort of hanger.

"Hey, those things look like the aircraft from the spaceship universe with the Formic." said Ruby as the warplanes came into view.

"They're called F-22 Raptors." supplied Jaune.

"Are they made by Jaune company." asked Weiss.

"No. They're made by Lockheed Martin, mostly, with another company called Boeing making some of the components."

**As Jaune walked into the hanger he heard his friend, Rhodey, talking. He was in lecture mode, undoubtedly with cadets or junior officers. **

"**The future of air combat. Is it manned or unmanned? I'll tell you in my experience, no unmanned aerial vehicle will ever trump a pilots instinct, his insight, that ability to look into a situation beyond the obvious and decern its outcome, or a pilots judgement."**

"**Colonel…" interrupted Jaune to get his friends attention. "…Why not a pilot without the plane?" Jaune asked rhetorically. **

"**Look who feel out of the sky…" said Rhodey for the benefit of those he is instructing. "…Mr Jaune Arc." Jaune was offered the hand of one of the lecturees which he took as a greeting for the whole group.**

"**Speaking of ah, manned or unmanned you gotta get him to tell you about the time he guessed wrong at spring break. Just remember that, spring break 1987, that lovely lady you woke up with, what was his name?"**

"**Don't do that." ordered his friend as those gathered around chuckled.**

"**Was it Iven?"**

"**Don't do that. They'll believe that. Don't do that…" chuckled Rhodey as well, seeing the funny side of it and use to Jaunes weird sense of humour. "…give us a couple a minute's you guys…" finished Rhodey, dismissing his audience. As the recruits left the 2 friends turned to each other, happy to see each other. "…I'm surprised."**

"**Why?"**

"**I swear I didn't expect you to be walking around so soon."**

"**I'm doing a little better than walking."**

"**Really?" answered the Air Force Colonel, his curiosity piqued.**

"**Yeah. Rhodey I'm working on something big. I came to talk to ya. I want you to be part of it."**

"**You're about to make a whole lot of people round here real happy cause that little stunt at the press conference. That was a duzy."**

"What's he talking about? He just escaped from terrorist! Why would he be hosting a press conference at all?" asked Weiss.

"Well, we have missed that bit. Jaune called a press conference as soon as he landed back in the US…America. He declared that he was shutting down the weapons manufactory sectors of his company."

"What? His company is a weapons manufacturer. If they stop making their product how can they stay in business...?" Weiss almost screamed. The businesswoman in her not having a clue what to think about this Jaune declaring business suicide. "…Is Arc Industries that wealthy that they can absorb the losses while they retool for another sector?"

"Well. Yeah, but they also do other things to. Mainly research and development, but weapons isn't all the company does. It's just the main thing."

"I guess having his own weapons used to attack him really stuck with him. Can't say I blame him. How did these terrorists even get so many of his weapons anyway?" said Maria.

"**This…is not for the military. I'm not…it's different."**

"**What? You a humanitarian now or something?" asked Rhodey, looking at his long-time friend like he's gone crazy.**

"**I need you to listen to me…" started Jaune before Rhodey interrupted him.**

"**No. What you need. Is time to get cha mind right. I'm serious." Finished Rhodey as Jaune just smiled at him.**

"**Ok."**

"**It's nice seeing you Jaune." said Rhodey as he turned away.**

"**Thanks." said Jaune quietly, clearly disappointed. Before he too turned away and made to start his project. **

"That's such a shame. They were really happy to see each other as well." said Nora, hugging Rens arm.

"Yeah. However I think that Rhodey guy maybe feeling a little betrayed. Given what they both do I imagine they met through Arc Industries contracts with this, Americas military." said Weiss.

"Well that's what most of their contact is about, but they have been friends for longer. They met at MIT."

"Stop using acronyms from other UNIVERSES!" shouted Yang.

"Ha. Sorry, it's a Research University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology."

"Oh my Oum that sounds awesome! What can you do there? What's there combat lessons like?!" said Ruby, bouncing up and down on the sofa as the TV showed Jaune driving home.

"They don't have combat lessons Ruby. They have martial arts clubs and stuff like that, but this world doesn't have an ever-present threat that wants to kill all sentient life requiring children to be trained to fight. You can pretty much study anything you want though. Provided you have around 20 grand."

"20000 Lien! Don't they do scholarships." said Maria.

"Its 20000 dollars to them, and that price is with a scholarship, without it it's around 80."

"I'm glad Beacon doesn't require us to pay. I literally just had Gambol Shroud and some cloths." said Blake.

"Well, we are facing a threat to all life. We NEED to train you, that's why Vale pays for everything. A more peaceful world has other things it needs to spend its money on." commented Ozma.

**Jaune waved his hand over a black piece of plastic and a holographic keyboard flashed into life.**

"**Ren you up?" asked Jaune to his empty workshop.**

"**For you sir, always." **

"Renny! Where is he?" shouted Nora, full of excitement and wanting to see what her Ren looks like in this universe.

"**I'd like to like to open a new project file. Index, Haz Mark 2." said Jaune as he used a wireless control pen to move his designs for his original armour from his computer to the holographic table. **

"**Shall I store this on the Arc Industries central database?"**

"I think I'm the computer. Am I the computer?" asked Ren as it became apparent that no one else was in the workshop.

"Yeah. Jaune made you to help run his business, and pretty much everything else."

"OOOOO! Your computer voice is so handsome." said Nora shaking Ren and hugging him even tighter, somehow.

"Nora, how can a voice be handsome?" asked Oscar, the only one not familiar enough with her to know that might not be wise.

"No idea. But Renny pulls it off." replied Nora as Ren struggled to breath.

"**Actually, I don't know who to trust right now. Till further notice why don't we just keep everything on my private server."**

"**Working on a secret project are we sir?" asked the computer as Jaune started to manipulate the hologram.**

"**I don't want this winding up in the wrong hands…" answered Jaune as he removed huge parts of the original suites design. "…maybe in mine it could actually do some good." Finished Jaune as he spun the hologram round.**

"He's going to make a new suite of armour! He's going to make a new suite of armour..!" shouted Ruby as she continued to bounce on the sofa in excitement. "…I bet Rens' going to be his computer co-pilot! Maybe he'll make Ren his own suite body too!"

**Days past in a blur as Jaune worked in near solitude. His obsessive tendencies and massive intellect pushing him through all nighters as he drew closer and closer to his goal of personal flight. His robots helping in an unhelpful way, trying to follow instructions as Jaune ended up working round them on a large metal boot that contained the Repulsors which will provide Jaune with lift and thrust. Soldering components and testing micro pistons, actuators, and powerlines.**

"ROCKET BOOTS! HE'S MAKING ROCKET BOOTS..!" shouted Ruby. "I wish I had robot helpers when I was making Crescent Rose."

"They don't look to be that helpful." said Wiess, glaring at the machine on screen like it was something useless and offensive to her.

"Pst. Not for making stuff. To talk to silly." commented Ruby shaking her head at her friend like it should have been something obvious.

**Jaune then fitted out his robots with a camera and fire extinguisher before putting his new boots on and connecting them to his miniature Arc Reactor. **

"That's why he needed a new one. He's going to use his chest reactor to power his suite, like the original one..." said Blake scrutinising the screen as Jaune stomped around in huge metal boots. "That's cleaver. No one else can operate them without an Arc Reactor, and Jaune has the only one inside his chest."

"**Ok. Lets do this right..." said Jaune as he moved onto a low grid platform. "…Start mark half metre back from centre…" Jaune took a deep breath, steeling himself. "…dum-e look alive, you're on standby for fire safety. You roll it…" ordered Jaune to each robot. He then reached round and activated the device that began to whine as power flowed. "…Ok…activate hand controls…" narrated Jaune as she swung his hips, procrastinating slightly.**

"Looks like this Jaune ain't no dancer." smirked Yang to herself remembering the Beacon Dance.

"**Going to start up nice and easy, we're going to see it 10% thrust capacity achieve lift. An 3, 2, 1."**

**Wosh and thud as Jaune lifted off the ground a lot more violently than he anticipated and smacked into the ceiling, falling to the ground behind some tool trollies with a thud. Then Dum-e fired the fire extinguisher trying to put out a fire that wasn't there.**

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh my Oum that's so awesome." shouted Yang as tears started to stream down her face.

"Yang! They have no Aura remember. That Jaune could be really hurt." said Ruby, glaring at her sister.

"Pst, please, he ain't going to show us Jaune dying or anything. It's just funny."

"Yang, we're watching this as it happens. I have no control over it. Thankful this Jaune is just a little stunned, but others have died in this experiment. Going headfirst into the ceiling or breaking his back on those tool chests as he fell. This is real. If Jaune dies, the screen will go fuzzy with no soul to lock onto." finished Jaune as Yang looked over at him, her laughter having died as Jaune filled them all in on what could have, and has happened in other universe.

"Don't worry about it firecracker. I think it's best to look at these as just films or TV. Forget what this guy just said, I thought it was funny…" said Qrow with a smirk. "…The only universe we need to care about is ours."

**The scene then changed to show Jaune furiously working on his multi-monitored computer designing what must be more components for his suit, before he rendered the device on his holographic table, manipulated some components and then slipped his arm into the hologram as if it were there.**

"Oh my Oum did you see that?! We have holographic displays, but nothing that can render and manipulate the image in real-time around someone's movements to that level of detail. EEEEE!" squealed Ruby, loving all the technology she's seen.

**The scene then jumped again and showed that Jaune had now crafted his gauntlet and was fitting it around his arm. The device clicking and beeping with Jaune talking to himself as Pyrrha came down the stairs and entered his workshop carrying some mail, a big parcel and some coffee. **

"**I've been buzzing you, did you hear the intercom?" said Pyrrha as she walked towards Jaune.**

"**What." answered Jaune distractedly. **

"**Obadiahs' upstairs. He wanted me to tell …"**

"**Great. Great I'll be right up." said Jaune as he lifted his now encased arm off his workbench. Pyrrha walked a little closer and looked at her bosses creation with concern.**

"**I thought you said you were done making weapons?"**

"**It is. This is a flight stabiliser…" Jaune then pushed a button on his desk and the device charged with a whine as Jaune braced himself. "…It's completely harmless."**

**The Repulsor then discharged and sent Jaune flying in the other direction. Pyrrha jumped and turned away covering her ears as tools and papers flew away from Jaunes workbench and he landed on his back several metres away.**

"**I didn't expect that." said Jaune, mostly for Pyrrhas benefit so she wouldn't worry.**

"Ha! That's awesome." said Qrow, everyone else found it funny as well with everyone giving a smirk or a half chuckle, but the events comedic value were still dimmed by the comments Jaune threw out when Jaune flew into the ceiling.

**Jaune then tidied himself up, removed his gauntlet and went upstairs. Antonio Salieri's Larghetto Piano Concerto in C was playing as Jaune entered the large living area. **

"**How'd it go?" asked Jaune as he approached the large, curved sofa. Obadiah was playing the piano and looked up as Jaune spoke. Then Jaune noticed the pizza box on the table.**

"**Uh. Went that bad hah." said Jaune as he sat next to Pyrrha and went to look in the pizza box.**

"**Just because I brought pizza back from New York doesn't mean it went bad." said Obadiah, still playing the piano. **

"**Uh-ha, sure doesn't. Oh boy." finished commented Jaune as he examined the pizza.**

"**Would have gone better if you were there." said Obadiah as he stopped and began to walk over while Jaune stuffed a pizza slice into his face.**

"**Uh-uh. You told me to lay low, that's what I've been doing. I lay low and you take care of the…"**

"**Come on. In public, the press. This was a board of directors meeting."**

"**This was…This was a Board of Directors meeting?" said Jaune as Obadiah sat down, pretending, and failing to convey that he didn't know the meeting was taking place. Not that Obadiah was convinced. **

"Oh Oum…" said Weiss, despairing and slapping her own forehead with her palm.

"**The Board is claiming a Post-Traumatic Stress, they're filing an injunction."**

"**A what?!" **

Everyone turned to Weiss as she signed in exasperation when she noticed.

"It's a legal act that restrains or limits the actions someone can take so that the rights of those filing the Injunction are not violated. In this case, it appears that the Board Members are trying to prevent or overrule Jaunes decision in order to protect the company."

"**They want to lock you out."**

"**Why? Cause the Stocks dipped 40 points, we knew that was going to happen."**

"**46 and a half." offered Pyrrha.**

"Wow. That is a significant drop. What's the time frame?" asked Weiss as she turned to Jaune.

"Just over a week."

Weiss cringed before turning back to the TV.

"**It doesn't matter. We own the controlling interest in the company." snapped Jaune.**

"**Jaune. The Board has rights to. They're making the case, that you in your new direction, isn't in the companies best interest." said Obadiah, reasonably.**

"**I'm being responsible? That's a new direction, for me, for the company..." argued Jaune, not really very convincingly. "…I mean me on the companies behalf being responsible for the way that…oh this is great." huffed Jaune when he didn't receive any support and then started to rise.**

"**Oh come on Jaune. Jaune?" said Obadiah standing and going after Jaune as he left with the pizza box. **

"**I'll be in the shop." replied Jaune.**

"**Hey. Hey, hey, Jaune…" said Obadiah as he caught Jaune shoulder and brought him around. "…I'm trying to turn this thing around but you got to give me something. Something to pitch them. Let me have the engineers analysis that…" Obadiah pointed at the reactor in Jaunes chest. "…you know, draw up some specs."**

"**No."**

"**It'll give me a bone to throw the boys in New York." finished Obadiah as Jaune spoke over him saying no.**

"**Absolutely not. This one stays with me. That's it Obe, forget it." **

"**Alright, well this stays with me then. Go on here, you can have a piece…" said Obadiah as he opened the pizza box. "…Take 2."**

"**Thank you."**

"**You mind if I come down there and see what you're doing?" asked Obadiah.**

"**Goodnight Obe." finished Jaune as he jogged back down the stair to his workshop.**

"About time someone made sense in this. Gods, that reactor could solve so many problems if implemented properly. Not to mention make a lot of lien." said Weiss.

"But its Jaunes reactor. It his choice what to do with it. Not to mention he needs it to, you know, live." argued Ruby.

"True. However that device is incredible. The good it could do is unimaginable." replied Blake in support of Weiss.

"And the bad. The leap in power that thing represents. It's kind of scary. Think what would happen if that happened back home. White Fang with hand held energy weapons as powerfully as Neptunes trident, or even more powerful. That don't sound like a good party." said Yang siding with her sister as Jaune continued to work on screen until he started fitting the boots and gauntlets to himself.

"**Day 11. Test 37, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option Dum-e is still on fire safety…" Jaune then turned to address his extinguisher equipped robot. "…If you douse me again, and I'm not on fire I'm donating you to a city college…" Jaune composed himself again for the camera documenting his tests. **

"…**Alright nice and easy. Seriously, just going to start off, with 1% thrust capacity…"**

Yang snorted and smirked. "Smart."

"…**In 3 2 1."**

**The gauntlet and boot repulsors fired and Jaune clearly lifted a foot or 2 off the floor, using the palm repulsors to control himself. He hovered for several seconds under his own control before the repulsors stopped and he landed.**

"**Ok."**

"EEEEEEE! It works! That's so awesome!" squealed Ruby.

**Jaune regained his footing and turned round to see Dum-e pointing the fire extinguisher at him.**

"**Please don't follow me around with it either cause I feel like I'm going to catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down. If something happens then come in. And again lets bring it up to 2.5. 3 2 1." **

**Jaune lifted up again. Higher. Jaune was steady for several seconds, micro-pistons shifting and pressure relief valves firing, before he started drifting and that drift started picking up speed. He drifted off the test floor and round the workshop before heading to his neatly parked cars.**

"Oh shit." exclaimed Yang and Qrow at nearly the same time, eyes going wide and riveted to the screen.

"**Ok this is where I don't want to be. Oh. Not the cars not the cars not the cars. Yikes!" yelled Jaune as he drifted over the top of his cars, before continuing and the thrust throwing papers off his desk and around the workshop. Jaune used his palm repulsors and managed to reverse the drift, laughing in a panicked manic way.**

"**Could be worse could be worse could be worse. We're fine."**

**Jaune managed to slowly bring himself under control and moved back into the test floor.**

"**Ok. We're getting there."**

**Jaune slowly returned to the centre of the test floor and hovered in place, spinning slowly before he descended and landed again. Taking a second to regain his footing. He then turned to Dum-e again.**

"**No! Ah ah ah!" shouted Jaune as he held his finger up before the robot before the robot lowered its arm dejectedly.**

"Ahhh. Poor robot." said Ruby.

**Jaune then turned away from his mistreated robot. "Yeah. I can fly." said Jaune as he moved away towards the robotics assembly area, and other robotic arms descended and attached plating to his legs.**

"Oh my Oum has he progressed that far!?" bounced Ruby. Clapping her hands and having stars appear in her eyes half the size of her head.

**Other components were attached and secured to Jaune, mostly by himself but some by other machines and lastly, he reached over and picked up the face plate. Securing it to his face.**

"**Ren, you there?" **

"**At your service sir." answered the AI.**

"**Engage heads up display." ordered Jaune as icons started to flash right in front of his face.**

"**Check."**

"**Import preferences from home interface."**

"**Will do sir."**

**Jaune looked around and observed at the heads up display IDed and highlighted items all around is workshop.**

"**Alright, what do you say?"**

"**I have indeed been up loaded sir. We're online and ready."**

"**Let's start the virtual walkaround."**

"**Importing preferences and calibrating virtual environment."**

"**Do a check on control surfaces."**

"**As you wish."**

**The suit then came into view and started moving. The control surfaces of the suit shifting as Ren tested them. Starting with the legs and back before moving to the compartments on the arms and before finishing with the chest and shoulders. **

"Oh my Oum! I nearly peed." squealed Ruby again. Somehow appearing even more awestruck.

"Ruby. Do contain yourself. You're bodily functions have been suspended remember. If you pee we'll know it was on purpose." chastised Weiss.

"I'll forgive you Sis. Seeing that made me tingly in a really good way." said Yang.

"Oh Oum! You pair of beasts." exclaimed Weiss.

"Damn right! No Oum damned tingly feelings or peeing!" shouted Qrow.

"It is pretty cool. Not tingle inducing cool, but cool." commented Blake as Weiss continued to despair.

"**Test complete. Preparing to power down and being diagnostics."**

"**Ahh. Yeah. Tell you what, do a weather and ATC check, start listening in on ground control." ordered Jaune.**

"**Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is attempted." said Ren, the AI sounding exasperated.**

"**Ren. Sometimes you got to run before you can walk. Ready, in 3 2 1." replied Jaune as he got himself ready for takeoff.**

**The Repulsors fired and Jaune lifted off the floor and started moving towards the open garage door picking up more and more speed.**

"**WOOOOOYYEAAH!" shouted Jaune as he and his suit screamed into the sky.**

**It took several seconds for Jaune to to get himself fully under control, but when he did with a manic look of joy and glee on his face he tore alone the coast.**

"**Handles like a dream."**

"That is extremely impressive." said Ozma, eyes wide as he watched this older version of one of his students rocket across the sky in a suit of powered armour, while his other students bounced on the sofa in either wonder or annoyance. Nora leaping from one arm to the other trying to mimic what she was seeing on screen.

"No kidding. Its loud, but look at it go. I wouldn't mind having a go in that thing." said Qrow, watching as Jaune rounded a pier with a Ferris Wheel on the end, and snorting as a gobsmacked kid froze in place and lots his ice cream onto his lap when the kid saw Jaune.

**Jaune then brough himself to the vertical and started climbing.**

"**Alright. Lets see what this thing can do. What's SR71 record?"**

"**The altitude record for fixed wing flight is 85000 feet sir." answered Ren. **

"**Records were made to be broken. Come on!" shouted Jaune as he climbed higher and higher.**

"Wow. That's high." said Ruby. Still bouncing on her seat if now a little more controlled.

"We've been higher. I think Atlas has craft that can reach 100000." commented Weiss smugly, now that Atlas and by extension their Remnant can do something these other universes can't.

"That's because you use Gravity Dust. They don't have that. They need to use wings to generate lift, and when the air around the aircraft becomes too thin it can't generate more lift. Also they've gotten into space so…" finished Jaune with a shrug.

"**Sir, there is a potentially fatal build-up of ice occurring."**

"**Keep going!" said Jaune, ignoring the warning from his AI companion. **

**Ice did then indeed start to cover the suit and the metal started to groan.**

"**Higher."**

**Then the suit failed. Leaving Jaune with on power inside it, and gravity then played its hand. **

"**AHHHHHHH!" shouted Jaune as he started plummeting.**

"**We iced up Ren deploy flap." Shouted Jaune over the whistle of the wind rushing past as he fell.**

"Well duh. My Renny tried to tell you Jaune-Jaune." shouted Nora as she flopped down on Rens lap.

"**REN..?" shouted Jaune as he continued to fall. "…Come on we got to break the ice."**

**Jaune struggled as he fell, reaching for the manual flap actuator on his leg. He twisted and the control surfaces all over his suit opened breaking the ice. A second later and the power flowed through Jaunes suit again as the heads up display ran through its start up as the ground continued to get closer and closer. At the last second his repulsors fired and he tore down a motorway dodging cars as he lifted back into the sky.**

"**HA HA HA." screamed Jaune in ecstasy and relief as he sored through the sky again.**

"Wow! That was close." Said Ruby, relaxing into her seat in relief.

"Well, if he listened to Renny that wouldn't have happened." gushed Nora rubbing her cheek against Rens as he sat seemingly indifferently with Nora on his lap. Of course all Rens friends knew he wasn't indifferent and was eating it up.

**Jaune decided that it was best to quit while he was ahead. He headed for home and came to a hover above his home.**

"**Kill power." said Jaune, and unsurprisingly, gravity exerted its control over his form. Jaune crashed through his roof, through his piano and the floor below and crushing his Shelby Cobra **

"Oh, that's got to be painful." said Yang cringing.

"Too right Firecracker. That car was a thing of beauty." commented Qrow. Yang nodding in agreement as their friends looked at them in bewilderment.

**Jaune just lay in the remains of one of his cars as the alarms on the others sounded. The Dum-e turned its fire extinguisher on him as Jaune lowered his head back in resignation. **

**It took Jaune a little while to extract himself from the remains of his car and his suit. Then decided to deal with the forming bump on his head with an ice pack. **

"Aura heals bumps and bruises in minutes. It's amazing to think what these other universes are accomplishing without the benefits we enjoy." commented Blake.

"Due to my life before Ozpin on the farm, I'd probably be the healthiest person here if we didn't have Aura. Of course I'd think I'd prefer more aches and pains in exchange for the terror of the Grimm." said Oscar, sat in front of Ozma.

**Jaune walked picked up the now cold coffee from on top of the package Pyrrha brought down earlier and was about to walk past it when noticed the postit that was hidden underneath the coffee cup. It read `From Pyrrha`, Jaune removed the postit and quickly unwrapped the package. It relieved the Mark 1 miniature Arc Reactor encased in a glass cube, with a silver board around the reactor engraved with, `Proof that Jaune Arc has a heart.`**

**Jaune looked down at the gift and smiled, thinking of Pyrrha usually did that to him.**

The TV then turned off.

"Ahhhh." said Weiss, Blake, Yang, Nora and Ruby.

"That was so sweet. I think she must have a thing for him too." said Yang.

"It's a forbidden love. That's so hot." whispered Blake to herself. `Ninjas of Love` didn't have office flings between employer and employee, but it did have a lot of forbidden love in it.

"How was he controlling the suit so well? Does it have nerve sockets like people with prosthetic limbs?" asked Ozma, genuinely interested, wondering if this could help James alleviate the pain he usually feels with the interface he has to use.

"There are sensors in the helmet that observe his brains electrical activity. It goes through a mental commands algorithm that Jaune developed years earlier."  
"Wait. There's no implants. No actual link between Jaune and the suit?" asked Oscar. Marvelling at this technology to decode the working of the brain.

"Just the links between the reactor and the suit. Its just prospective…" answered Jaune, falling into what was becoming his `lecture` tone. "…you really believe in the soul, because you see it and feel it. So you've subconsciously left the brain alone so that you don't tamper with it, you never tried to map the emissions being given off. You plugged devices into people through the nervous system to get signals from the brain while these people go straight to the source. However, like all things there are exceptions. General Ironwoods Aura transfer machine is, as far as I'm aware, the only intrusive science towards mapping and manipulating these signals coming from the brain. Everyone else thinks the soul resides in peoples hearts, it's the head. Everything that makes up a person comes from the brain. The soul and the brain are what creates consciousness in all living things."

"Everyone else? Do you mean the other universes?" asked Maria. Everyone else was listening now too. The technical question with the philosophical answer seemed to grab their attention.

"Yeah. Those without aura. I think they tend to affiliate the heart with feelings, and the soul with feelings rather than thought. Whereas for you the soul is more tangible, a small part of it measurable. You can feel it."

"And these other universes have to guess where it is, and that'll depend of their own perspective. Rather than anything real." commented Qrow, unusually insightful.

The room started getting brighter and brighter again, and a few seconds later with a flash they were heading elsewhere.

(Crossover = Ironman)


	8. Chapter 8

**Lost Arc 8**

It seemed to take longer than normal for the light to fade, and when everyone had blinked their eyes clear they realised it was because they were in a very large gold office. A massive gold desk, chair, keyboard, the walls were gold, the statues in the office and even the computer monitors on either end of the desk.

"Crap. How can anyone work in here. I'm getting a headache already." complained Qrow as he walked over to the exit of the office.

"No kidding. Talk about opulent." said Weiss as she and her friends followed Qrow.

"Wow." said Ruby as she saw what was outside the office. A huge circular arena with a sandy flour. Surrounded by stone seating and topped with massive stone statues of soldiers with spears and shields. Golden discs were embedded around the arena with eagles imprinted on them, and the whole space was covered by a domed ceiling made of red stone.

"Glynda would love this. She's always loved designing arenas when she was younger. This is obviously a very big arena. Basic, but big and beautiful. Would I be correct in thinking they have no Aura here as well?"

"Indeed Ozma. I'm guessing the sand gave it away." answered Jaune, to which Ozma nodded.

"What's the sand got to do with anything?" asked Nora, having found her way on top of the closest golden disc and was sitting on it kicking her legs.

"It helps to absorb spilt blood." answered Maria.

"The style feels Roman to me. I'd say this is a modern interpretation of the Colosseum. That's an ancient Amphitheatre that's around 2000 years old." said Jaune as he looked around at the massive space.

"You haven't been here before?" asked Blake.

"No. No Jaune has ever been here before. The dimension must have selected it due to proximity rather than drawing from my experiences. This must be the oldest universe in this branch, or at least the oldest one that includes a Jaune. This place must be along one of the Paths Jaune can take."

"This room can predict the future?" asked Ren, just before Nora jumped onto his back.

"No no no. It uses Diffraction Patterns to predict what the atoms in a couple of light year radius might do. It uses that to...guess where I might be." explained Jaune.

"Oh...That old Diffraction thing, Yeah. Should have guessed." said Yang, totally deadpan before she rolled her eyes and flopped down on one of the Stone seats stretching out her arms and legs. RWBy, jNpR, Oscar, Ozma, Qrow, Maria and Jaune sat down too. Despite being made of stone the seats were oddly comfortable.

"Well this seems all good and fancy. Do you think this could this Jaunes future place?" asked Qrow.

"I doubt it. This Jaune hates the Romans and everything about them."

"Impressive that they lasted this long, these Romans. The Kingdoms back home have only been around for 3 or 4 hundred years." commented Ozma, taking the opportunity to relax with everyone else.

"Oh no. The Roman Empire fell around 1500 years ago. They had a massive impact on the state of the world, especially in Europe. However, they are all gone."

"Wait, Jaune hates a dead empire from 1500 years ago." asked Ruby.

Before Jaune could answer, a large section of the arena floor opened up and a massive screen rose from the opening and flickered to life.

"Wow. When you rebuild Beacon you should get one of these. Hope it has surround." said Yang, marvelling at the largest screen they'd seen so far, just before it came to life

/

**Jaune was traveling down a river or deep swamp in an outboard driven RIB. He was wearing thigh high black boots with dark trousers with a brown belt and a black shirt covered with a fading and frayed great coat. He held his Katana against his shoulder while his fingerless gloved hand grasped it tightly. A red head band kept the majority of his long and unkept blond hair out of his eyes, also showing a long scar that went from below his noise all the way to somewhere underneath his hair line. **

/

"Do all Jaunes grow up to be hunks? Shame he doesn't have any brothers now that you've bagged our Jaune." said Yang to Jaune, although the last comment was to Ruby who pouted and glared back. Then Nora landed on her shoulder.

"Well you did say you haven't decided which way to swing yet. He has siiiiisteeeeerss." sang Nora before she leaps off and landed on Ren again.

"Jaunes come in all shapes and sizes in the multi-verse. Remember you guys are the ones driving. The dimension will look for what you want."

"Ohhh. Can't wait for pancake world." cheered Nora, clapping.

/

**The surrounding trees lining the river were slowly giving way to other, less natural structures as he travelled. The mostly collapsed sides of building, streetlights. It became obvious that Jaune was moving through the flooded remains of a city. It became very clear when floodlights flashed on around Jaune and an old sports screen came to life as he travelled through an old sports stadium. **

/

"That level of growth takes time. That city must have fallen a long time ago. To Grimm?" asked Maria.

"This world doesn't have that pleasure. Terrorism, War, Climate change, bad Genetic Engineering and lastly a deadly virus saw to the end of world order. Apart from a few areas, most of the world is like that." answered Jaune gesturing to the screen.

/

**The sports screen was showing a basic animation of an explosion When text ran from one side to the other and the ancient speakers came to life. **

"**Don't you ever quit?" asked a voice with an electrical twang to it, that matched the text that flew across the screen. Jaune just kept going, not paying the screen any attention.**

"**Get lost." Jaune replied. **

**Then all the lights and the screen lost power again plunging the area into darkness.**

"**You're the one who's lost." said the voice again.**

**/**

Ozma sat forward slightly, scrutinising the screen.

"Yeah, I heard that too. I think that voice might be you." commented Qrow quietly to Ozma when he noted Ozmas' reaction.

"This Jaune looks so sad." commented Blake to herself, seeing the sadness and apathy in Jaunes eyes and face.

/

**Jaune continued on his way. Passing crumbling motorways and decaying water towers. Eventually he came to an old multi-story car park with an obviously large fire burning at the top. Jaune turned off the engine before he got too close to be heard and coasted the rest of the way. When he was close enough, he jumped in the car park and started walking towards the top floor. Passed smashed in cars and chains hammered into the walls, eventually coming to the last ramp, walking underneath half a dozen strung up corpses before reaching the top floor.**

**Jaune walked towards the giant bonfire that was apparently used for cooking the local mutated wildlife, at least he hoped it was local wildlife. Nearly a dozen men surrounded the fire, eating, each a product of bad genetic engineering and poor augmentics. It didn't take long for them to notice Jaune walking calmly towards them. **

"**Who the fuck are you?" asked one of the men aggressively. Throwing his empty glass bottle behind Jaune. The other men getting to their feet and beginning to surround Jaune.**

/

"Hey Qrowy. Is this what the Branwen Tribe is like. I always picture low lifes like these when Yang talks about them." asked Nora innocently.

Qrow glanced over at his Niece as she shrugged and then turned back to Nora.

"Some are. They don't last long though. Raven tends to send them in first to soften up settlement defences, everyone in the tribe is strong, but if you're just a thug? The Tribe will chew you up in short order."

/

"**I'm looking for someone." answered Jaune as he continued to walk right into the middle of the group of thugs. **

"**Who's this?"**

"**Fresh meat."**

"**You got balls." said one of several men as they closed in. The last to speak, some idiot made up like a clone pressed a large handgun for Jaunes forehead as Jaune came to a stop. Unafraid and in no way intimidated.**

"**But no brains." said the largest thug with a horn coming out his forehead, grabbing Jaunes shoulder. He pressed on Jaunes shoulder and then the thug went flying into the fire. In the first half of the next second, 3 of the thugs lost arms and hands to Jaunes sword. In the next half Jaune sheathed his Katana as the thugs ran in terror.**

/

"Yeah! Take that!" shouted Nora, now on Rens lap.

"Wow. That was pretty impressive. My weapons the closest to this Jaunes but I can't move it like that." said Blake, looking enviously at the speed and skill this Jaune displayed.

"I wouldn't worry about it Blake. This Jaune has had a lot of experience fighting with that sword." said Jaune with a knowing smirk that Blake hated.

/

**Jaune then felt the pull of a Quickening Aura and turned towards an old cargo container on a lorry trailer. Undoubtedly this person senses Jaune as well, and sure enough a large dark-skinned man jumps down from the trailer. He calmly walks into view with a massive chainsaw held over his shoulder.**

/

"What was that weird waviness just then? Your room not working?" asked Maria, smirking.

"That was Jaune sensing the Quickening Aura of another Immortal." said Jaune, completely oblivious to everyone spinning round in place and staring at him gobsmacked.

"Immortal. Do you mean this Jaune has been cursed like me?" asked Ozma, eyes wide with a burning curiosity and need to know.

"Not like you no. His Immortality is natural, caused by fate or nature itself or destiny" explained Jaune calmly.

"But why does he look like himself and not someone else like me? Is this his first life?" asked Ozma again.

"Oh no. This Jaune, and his body are over 2000 years old at this point. The only way he'll die is if he is beheaded. Any and all other injuries heal extremely rapidly for him."

"So, if that gun guy pulled the trigger…?" asked Ruby.

"Then Jaune would have a very big hole in his head. About an hour later he'll be up, fully healed and beating up these guys to get his stuff back after they undoubtedly loot his body." finished Jaune. Ozma looked down into his own hands and wondered if the Brother Gods made him immortal in this way on purpose. Forced him to involve and ruin other lives, like Oscar, against his and their wills. His hands clenched into fists as his anger threaten to overtake him before the screen mercifully pulled his attention back to this universes Jaune Arc.

"What is it with bloody chainsaws." muttered Weiss to herself, not noticing Ozmas' inner-turmoil.

/

"**I, am Malike. Have you come to take my head and collect the reward?" asked this giant of a man as Jaune relaxed a little and lowered his sword.**

"**You're not who I want." said Jaune, hoping that Malike wouldn't press this and could fight the urge to kill.**

"**Ain't that a shame. Cause I'm the one you got." answered Malike as he made ready to attack.**

"**No one has to die today..." said Jaune, resigning himself to what he already knew was about to happen. Malike started his chainsaw.**

"…**Don't." muttered Jaune to himself. Knowing it was hopeless but still clinging to the possibility that something somewhere would stop this idiot before he was forced to kill him. **

**Malike drove his chainsaw into the tarmac and used it to propel himself towards Jaune at some significant speed, tearing up the old surface as the chainsaw sped him along. Jaune made ready to dodge, leaving his sword sheathed in order to have a better grip on it at the moment. Malike jumped at the last moment and came down swinging his weapon at Jaune who dodged away. Malike pursued and ripped apart some railings that were behind Jaune as he once again dodged out the way. Jaune landed on top of an old car and saw Malike once again tearimg up the tarmac using his chainsaw to close the distance. Jaune dodged again and the car was promptly cut in 2 by the powerful cutting teeth of Malikes weapon. Jaune jumped onto the roof of an adjoining Mall and now decided to draw his weapon. The sword coming free easily and Jaune managed to just stop Malike dead as their weapons collided. **

"**I've lived a thousand years boy. I've killed a hundred like you…" taunted Malike as Jaune and he pressed against each other, Jaune knowing he's at the disadvantage against Malikes superior bulk and strength. Malike then started the chain on his chainsaw and sparks flashed between the 2. "…There can be only one!" shouted Malike as he swung through the standoff and threw Jaune into the old Mall through the glass roof. Jaune landed nimbly and jumped, dodging as Malike again swung at him, instead hitting and severing a concrete support column that slowly crumbled. **

**At least slowly to Jaune. Malike had overextended himself and left himself wide open for attack and that was exactly what Jaune did. Jaunes sword flashed and struck for the first time, and cleanly cut into Malike. Jaune then landed halfway up an escalator and paused, knowing the fight was now over. **

**Malike hadn't figured that out yet and walked towards what he saw as a defeated, kneeling opponent. **

"**Time to Die."**

"**Yeah! Kill him!" shouted Malikes cronies as they finally worked up the courage to see what was going on. Then Malikes head fell off and they all ran away screaming.**

/

"Shit! He really did just cut his head off. I actually thought you might be kidding about the whole beheading thing." said Qrow, taking a swig of his drink as RWBY, jNpR and Oscar bulked at seeing down Malikes severed throat. Then they got really freaked out.

/

"**No. This can't be…" said Malikes disembodied head. "…Who are you?"**

"**Jaune Arc. Of the Clan Arc." said Jaune, looking back slightly over his shoulder at the head of Malike and his still standing, and walking body.**

**Malikes body then came to a stop and lowered the chainsaw before lighting started to flash from it. **

**The power built quickly as the old lights in this shopping centre flashed on for the first time in decades and most shorted out and burst. The old Christmas decorations came to life and the surge of power continued to increase, more lights bursting and now windows shattered as the force grew. Then the escalator activated as the power continued to crescendo until Malikes Quickening was released from his body, merging with Jaune.**

"**Aaaaaahhhhhh. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" shouted, then screamed Jaune as the pain and euphoria of the quickening began to overtake him.**

**The scene then changed to outside with the blue light of the quickening getting brighter and brighter within the glass roofed and walled building. Lighting up the surrounding area like a beacon, and it just kept getting brighter and brighter until it peaked and threw up all the surrounding water in a huge explosion of power.**

/

The huge tv then gave way to static.

"What the fuck..!" shouted Yang as she jumped out of her seat turning towards Jaune. "…You said that happens when Jaune dies!" continued Yang as her friends also jumped out of their seats.

"I said the screen would go fuzzy with no soul to lock onto. Death isn't the only way to lose the lock. The Quickening is a temporary merging of souls as the power and experience of the defeated is transferred to the victor. That's why it's gone fuzzy this time. That Jaune ain't dead." Finished Jaune as everyone started to calm down a bit.

"Oh, That's good…" said Ruby breathing out a sigh of relief. "…will we see more?"

"No. With the lock gone the dimension will shift again. Sorry Ruby. I'm sure we'll come back at some point if you're invested enough."

"Jaune, can I ask you something..?" said Ozma rather quietly.

"I can't interfere Ozma…" said Jaune sadly as he went to and rested his hand on Ozmas shoulder. "…the Brother Gods are real assholes. They could have done to you what they did to Salem and something similar to what that Jaune experiences, but they didn't. To force you to feel this pain and guilt over and over. It's all about their stupid little powerplays. If I alter the curse, they will know. Come to Remnant, and kill everyone. I'm sorry." finished Jaune.

Everyone again looked at the ancient man with pity and compassion. Again having it highlighted how horrendous Ozmas' life is, and how good he has managed to remain despite the hardships he's endured for untold centuries.

Qrow then came over and squeezed Ozmas' other shoulder. Signalling that he still had Ozma's back, and was starting to understand him better.

"Well I hope we come back..!" shouted Nora making everyone jump. "…Just imagine how awesome an immortal Fearless Leader is going to be! I bet he kicks all sorts of butt." The adults just looked at Nora in confusion, giving the abrupt change in tone she's brought about while her friends just rolled their eyes. Ren hid a small smirk. Somehow Nora just knows things. Meaning there will be butt kicking afoot ahead.

With that the room started to brighten, and then flashed. Sending them to their next destination.

(Crossover = Highlander: The Search for Vengeance)


End file.
